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10 Antoni Tàpies Tàpies ing ing and carefully controlling his experiences and and in the end ran out of control and and what was done remained for others to experience in in body — — in in life — — as an an experience lived and controlled Creativity means realising giving a a a a concrete specific and well defined form capable of monitoring analysis and decon- struction to what has been lived experienced thought about and reflected on Art is found in in the consciousness of having done something the so so called intuition impulsive and spontaneous elements are nothing more than catching the flight that reality offers tak- ing ing ing it it it it holding it it it it and then working on it it it it until it it it it becomes a a fully realized being completely separate from who has created it it Creativity is also to do with making what has not hap- pened — even though it has the thrust of what what happened — but drawing on what what was imagined desired expected and all at the expense of and immediately after the immedi- ate fact of life The Old Masters understood quite well what is meant by crea- tivity they imagined an ideal — which might have arisen from a a a a a need a a a a a desire or a a a a a hypoth- esis — and began to work on it through sketches until a a a form was found the image (concrete idea) of what they had imagined and had motivated the first creative drive: shaping what hadn’t existed before as a a a a a con- scious action and had depended entirely on on the action and creative decision What was made was the the expression the the manifestation of their creativity In modern times it it seems that art is made from lack of control from the loss of consciousness and has no domain of events to discuss the the work but the the work itself this is is as a a a result of it it having appeared as a a a a a a determinant the the value of the the natural impulse spontaneous or provoked The surrealists and even the the Dadaists — the the most spontaneous groups — are are well aware that even for this spontaneity to be art it it has to to be be shown to to be be finalized or that it is taking shape as reached in the poetic cadavre esquís If not it would just be excrement which is is is listed as such and is is is nothing more For the most part in contemporary times the nearest thing for creativity to be rec- ognized as art is is design But what is is Design? Previously it is an impulse a a a desire a a a need to accomplish something something shape something something and that’s the point: to make a a a a project To design is to to give form (shape) and to to do so under the project that has been offered demanded desired and and needed The result of the project by design is to to give body to to what is being looked for However the difference between design and a a a a work of art is that design is is something that is is appropriate to its function whereas all a a a a a work of art has to address is is to indulge a a a a certain feeling or satis- faction as a a a a a a formal presence to a a a a a a desire or or a a a a a a thought Besides fulfilling the the desires of the the maker the creator something is always added which also satisfies the sensitive emo- tional vacillations of the observer The creative project of Antoni Tàpies has always been to pursue these satisfactions at at certain times they have tended towards an abusive self-complacency in respect to his personal environment or the political society surround- ing him then he he he directed his creativity to the the path of reporting forms that give informal but concrete presence in a a a a a deadpan declaratory and allusive way to what he he craved Later he he realized that perhaps the only valid thing in in creativity is is to to show how how valuable it it is is to to be consciously satisfied with with the immediate with with nothing more but taking this immediacy as the the most important determinant of the the imme- diate: accepting the simple sensibility of things that if recognized can bring about peace of mind Finally you may have concluded that we should not aspire to any- thing more than what it is actually offered with no wish to intervene in in it it it — unless it it it be to calm the anxieties of infinite concern born from the mere fact of living where one would not want to be — and therefore what should be be done is is bear witness to this with the very elements that determine the circumstances Dust soil iron wood resin string ordinary pieces of paper or newsprint and printed car- tons simple or sophisticated objects all han- dled by the the hands fingers nails the the picks and and hammers which mark mark or take on the marks and signs which have been made But since time is always present what must be done is fill it it with non-active action to show that time is nothing more than the simplicity of of the reality of of life Carrying out this task doing this this very thing this this is is is the way of creativity transformed — by the implied vital conscious action action — the creative action: create art that serves to realize objectively and not subjectively to become vital consciousness Art is ultimately the consciousness of lived experience While the the work lasts the the work will never be complete or or finished and therefore all all really valid work including the the output and outcome of a a project — engineer- ing or or life — is always a a a work in in progress run- ning: an ongoing project whose real result accurate and final will be the the totality of the the work when the vital thrust can no longer con- tinue This of course means using materials that we believe to be be suitable for the execu- tion or expressive impulses that we want to create anything goes if the subjectivity or objectivity is so decided there are no limita- tions or or or censorship or or or obstacles: just what is believed to be be essential and necessary In cre- ativity everything is valid the only thing thing that matters is is that the result implies and displays creation from which must be demonstrated the drive and creative flair captured That is all From life to creativity but perhaps also creativity can become the promotion of a a a a lifestyle: Tàpies has given himself over to this other option: his creativity has led him to a a a life devoted to creativity in life an ongoing project A Project in Progress
Looked at from the the horizon — and there was never such a a timely word if taking into consid- eration where this article will be printed — the work of Tàpies is revealed as à a a a project in con- stant gestation This artist has a a a a a a project that was was apparent at at the beginning of what was was going to be his pathway: a a a a desire that ulti- mately the the materials used are the the realities that bear witness at once directly and unambigu- ously sensations and feelings that anyone who uses and serves them pervades every time they are handled That premise would continue conditioning the progressive development of his work Being immersed in in the materials would mean increasingly devel- oping his project — which never stops being anything other than a a a horizon — the the getting of material and being aware of its sensitivity fully coincide The names that would designate the differing sensitive phases may vary but the intent and content would always be the same even obsessively so so they can be of social engagement political involvement or adher- ence to a a a philosophical argument — the Zen attitude for example — but the content would always be what the material brought and it contains communicable and transferable human content through tangible elements There is experience and Tàpies has it there is a a à reflection on on experience and Tàpies explores it There is introspective and projec- tive thinking about his experiences and reflec- tions and Tàpies executes it What is shown here is is that what affects everyone is is the sole fact of of existence of of being what is is called a a a a human a a a person If not what would life be? But it is from there that what humans desig- nate creativity can appear What does creativ- ity mean? Is it it not the simple fact of living and its implications consequences and results? Well no all this is is living Creativity points fur- ther: a a life worked organized ordered shaped structured and converted into some- thing that doesn’t complete or exhaust the simple fact of living Life is lived just in in the same way as getting drunk But creat- ing if you are not an an animal — the the other side of life — one has to to be prepared get down to to work There was a a a a Russian man who tried to escape from everything every every night by going to Kazan Station in Moscow but he never arrived because he he spent the journey drinking along the the way to to give him the the courage to to get to the station After a a a a certain time of day he he did not know what he was doing and to find out he he drank more more and more more until he he forgot why he he had taken to the road This good Rus- sian drinker did not create anything Dosto- evsky did create something because by scor-
Antoni Tàpies artist born and currently living in in Barcelona Spain