Formless Thing Things Form Being in Motion Exploring Complexity
In the first place (after a letter to Seth and moving and thinking and painting with wife and a few hours of homework – reviewing Management and Organization Theory and Design no less) the first thing to do is to write. To simply write by hand, being in motion, that is, setting into motion, and all that follows, which usually happens (like today) first – after folding laundry, washing dishes, required reading, getting kiddos fed, dressed, off to school, checking email and phone messages and new assignments, touching base with wife, drinking (making and drinking) coffee, homework, family, tasks, events, chores, responsibilities, choices – after that the first thing to do is to write, after somehow quieting the buzziness of busyness, at the desk, reading something slow and singular like poems, philosophy, science, or art – something chosen, maybe a walk, maybe music, maybe a task, and then, oh then, the first thing to do is be in motion, set into motion, set being in motion at my desk with a ball-point pen (Bic) and blank, clean, beautiful, hungry, precious, anxious (anticipatory, aroused) lined notebook paper in a loose, forgiving stack, ready, ready, ready…
…for the first thing.
Which is not to say I was an object before, or that anything was ever a thing, or still (static) prior to pen + paper by my hand – no – Formless Things were Thinging Forms in all the other ways of motion, movements, relationships between tools and water, emotions, skin, utensils and hands and mouths and sounds and voices and contact continuous through air, always movement, humming being in motion beings forming thingless things forming formlessness, changing motion swerves and stoops, bends and helps listening to movements vibrations tones noticing shapes and lines and particling waves of substances moving moving attaching disseminating shapes, sequencing, paces, difference all pointing out where everything connects to everything else – the joining nature of boundaries – what is always next to – observe how the line works:
ι
ι
ι
before which space was “empty” but now it holds together, walls like stitches, buildings like blocks stuck together so things stay gathered, movements, lines, dance, breeze, blood, noises, gluing, gluing, gluing every to-gether, difference repetition pattern
Categories. To keep things adjoined, combined. Lists, minutes, days, tasks, timelines, hours, keeping thingless things attached in their movements – different ways of sameness – being in motion – and so forth →
→ Forth toward firstly, to write. Being in motion, set in motion, slowly faster, faster by slowly, by hand instead of tapping, fluid choices – typing is stop-motion, discreet, discontinuous – comparatively faster but less efficient, slower (by hand) efficacy thinking images or imaginary thinking now less critical (embedded critique): fluid. I stop. Breathing continues with hand thought memory hope – NOW –
A kind of yearning motion movement in letters read as words, phrases, meanings, less representative more relational – unnatural to this and this and that and other. Confusing writing, drawing, space and time, concept object sign symptom, doodle.
To communicate. Being in motion together if sequentially the linking looping line (by hand) tracing where we meet, are joined, in movement against/with, with, with one another – here is where we meet, inadvertent/advertently.
Being in motion, set in motion by hand – to draw writing – an advert for connection, to construct lines to bring things together, to notice. Exploring complexity through being in motion. Reading is movement.
We are.
I love the way this piece of writing flows into itself, like the fluid motion of a ball-point pen on paper. And I love that line “the buzziness of busyness”!
thank you. the ball-point is what all mine comes from first :).
Ah! I love this! I always feel a painting starts from your first movements and as a therapist who helps others use art for healing, I’m always thrilled by the simple power of connecting action and thoughts. Seems we should all do this naturally, but perhaps to observe it happening is another layer of magic.
I”m glad you are taking time to move and explore what happens on the blank page with ball point etc. Such a beautiful writer and creative. I love you.
Great formaslization of consciousness. Really well done.>KB
thanks very much, that’s encouraging
Thank you so much love – and for your encouragement that fuels my taking time and exploration. I love you.
Delightful waves, rolling in and out. The artist suspended between horizons, squinting to hold more than one perspective (druid, oracle, lituus mind). The contrast between hand and tapping is underestimated. I began to write something along these lines on the post you put up a while ago of an artist’s book, with your typed transliteration, but I scribbled as the tide was going out, lost the thread or got too enamoured of loops and tails, becoming illegible gesture. The art of writing, using the whole body to sweep mind to page, person to person, one time only, now and never…..
( thanks,love this piece, some juicy jewels and double visions: empty page as hungry: Yes!)
thank you Simon! I wanted to say I am eager to afford The House of Trees 🙂 Hope they will remain available?
Thanks, Nathan. I have been a bit out of kilter with WordPress – forgot to check ‘spam’ folder! Thought it had gone a bit too quiet on the Notifications front, now I have a lot of catching up to do. “The House of Trees” should be around for as long as needed. I am planning a paperback version as well, so the cost will come down, ( but I do like having the sturdiness of the hard covers.)
You caused me stop for a minute to ponder. Thanks.
Beautifully written, Nathan.
Wonderful description of a creative (not ‘the’) process. Going off the page, or beyond the page becomes possible?
multimodality is intriguing!
thank you