Beyond Reductionism: Finding Connection Through Embracing Ambiguity

Pen and ink contemporary fine art by Doug Ashby.

Beauty abounds despite perception.

Existing on the edges ambiguously where rigidity gives way to organic flow. 

The embrace of the uncertain opens a path.

Connection begets. 

It is not unusual to encounter, often simultaneously, edges that are smooth and rigid with those that are organic. In our modern cultures and societies those contrasts abound. A stroll through almost any city park will offer up this dichotomy if one is simply aware of its existence. In the artwork above, as in many before, I am striving to place that moment, which abounds, squarely within view, and to discover the boundaries of where ecology, cognition, beauty and the emerging digital intelligences converge. Perhaps, as Kurzweil says,  the singularity is approaching. Yet what exactly does that mean for the connected reality of nature and humankind? Is this moment a threshold, whereby what is required is a shift in our reductionist cognition towards one that is more acceptable of uncertainty? A place where beauty is not owned, but more broadly recognized, and the ambiguity of uncertainty teaches us more about living in harmony within the living system we inhabit? In which we are one with. Or do we stay the course in a world we constructed where we see in black and white? Do we destroy the edges that do not comply with patterns and constructs that are outdated? 

I will never forget the first time I heard the word Anthropocene. It was in a review of the book, The Last Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. I was intrigued so I did in fact read that book. The Anthropocene in short is the age of humans and those who study it look toward the incredible impact we have had upon our environment, and what the ramifications of that are and will become. They are of course unique in scale and influence and our capacity to shape our environment, for better or worse, is greater than it has ever been. Yet we remain dependent upon it. Many think we are dancing very close to the rough edges that are revealing the cracks created by our influence, and that we are at a crossroads and facing a stark choice: need vs. greed - sustainable existence or collapse through overconsumption. 

In the artwork above I am attempting to reveal the duality in nature of persistence and fragility. Life after all is exceptionally stubborn and desires nothing more than continuing. Yet life is also amazingly fragile despite its enduring resilience. The overall ecosystem will continue without us despite the damage we are capable of inflicting. In many ways, despite the scale of our influence, the processes are indifferent to our presence. I deliberately choose to incorporate color into this artwork to represent both beauty and the tenuous, as well as persistence. Drilling down a bit more on fragility we need to recognize that there are levels of this. Human vulnerability within ecological systems is something we can no longer take for granted as we witness seismic shifts within them, and then there is nature’s vulnerability to destructive exploitation that is eerily driven by us and our constructs. 

This brings us then to the sublime realm of human creations which extend naturally from our environments. They are born from them. Driving our electric devices we depend on for so many things are components that are primarily made of silica. Sand. The printing press was built of wood, shaped and formed, alongside smelted metals that worked in a unique way to propagate information like never before. The so-called artificial is not separate from nature but derivative of it. The danger therefore is not from creation itself, which has the power to do as much good as harm, but from our reductionist thinking and the unchecked consumption that drives our current economies. In many ways it’s a feedback loop that needs more attention to its process than ever. 

In the lower right corner of this artwork we see a series of rectangles and circles. You may have seen this imagery before in my work. Yes, design speaking, it is a play in contrast from the geometric and organic. Symbolically though I have always felt it was a representation of binary code. A series of ones and zeros, open gates and closed gates. A representation as well of humanity’s tendency, unstoppable desire, to codify and control. It’s amazing when one considers that the vast amount of information we process comes to us courtesy of binary. In many ways the ultimate in reductionist thinking. Do not get me work though, there is a place for such thinking, it has served us well in many respects, but the time has come to broaden out a bit. At its extreme reductionism is destructive as it belays the very connected nature of our ecological systems that are at the root of its health, erasing the fullness in favor of narrow efficiency. 

So I truly feel there is a siren call for a shift in our thinking. Our cognition. One that evolves beyond reductionism and towards a recognition of interdependence. As a teacher I rail against the current systems that place  subjects in isolated silos. We should be striving to weave our teaching in and out, and through, all subjects as they are connected and dependent upon each other. We teach in science how ecosystems are built on interactions between the living members of that system, yet we can not connect that with reading and history, or art. I strive my best to do so. The world is not a static binary place. 

So where do we start? Perhaps in recognition of beauty in ways we have not done before. In my work as an art educator I am constantly asked if black is a color. As you know my work is heavily focused on black and white, this piece being a minority exception. My answer to that question, based on science, is no. Black is the absence of color, as color is a reflection of light and how our brain interprets that. We are limited within our own given biology to seeing the full spectrum that exists. Therefore beauty exists independently of what we witness. We may see the flower as pink, however there exists a wealth of so much more. Yet it is our perceptions that shape how we experience beauty. It is both intrinsic and interpreted. To fully experience the beauty of this world, and larger universe, we must release the inner control we gravitate towards and simply be a present to it in a way that is less consumption oriented. This world, and all its magnificent structures, does not exist solely for us. 

Embracing the ambiguous nature of uncertainty, within our lived environment, takes effort. Our nature is set to attempt to render control of nearly everything when in reality we are mostly incapable of that. In many ways I try to represent, in an atmospheric mood and tone, that inherent uncertainty within these philosophical questions. It is not a failure of clarity that prevents us from seeing a more complete picture. We are capable of developing a deeper understanding of this world we co-inhabit. To do so however we must embrace the fact that we are more than likely limited in the extent to which we can know. There will always be known unknowns. Through my work I try to bring the viewer towards that discomfort to recognize the paradoxes that we live with. Persistence and fragility, intrinsic beauty and constructed perception, nature and artificiality. These are truths to hold, not something we must fail against. By juxtaposing the rigid with the organic, a pop of color in a grey world, I strive to render this mental state in a way that nudges our perception just a bit around the edges. 

It is not for me to dictate what our path forward is and should be. However I do feel it is an artist's job to work towards that goal. I do believe that humanity’s path lies in our ability to become comfortable with ambiguity, to embrace with humility that our perceptions may not be complete and that in fact we are a connected part of something much larger than ourselves. Amid binary abstraction, and distraction, the fragile beauty of a much larger dynamic floats in front of us in an uncertain, yet beautiful, atmosphere. Let us embrace this reality that we do not understand, and or control, that which we think we do. Uncertainty is not paralysis, it is adventure. An adventure that has the potential to lead us forward, towards a more harmonious world that exists for our dependents. If this is a threshold moment then let’s walk towards that, and through it together. 

As always I hope you enjoy the art and writing. This artwork is for sale. It is 5” x 7” and is $190. If you are interested please head over to my contact page and reach out. If you would like to connect otherwise please leave a comment below. I promise I will respond. 

Thanks,

Doug