RORSCHACHIST ABSTRACTION

By Arnel Mirasol

Red Nude, 2012, acrylic monoprint on paper, Ray Espinosa collection

The painting above, Red Nude, is an acrylic monoprint on paper. It is part of what I call my Rorschachist Abstraction series (a few samples below) - so called because the titles I gave to the paintings in this suite were based on images I seem to discern in the finished artworks. The Rorschach or Inkblot Test, named after its creator, Hermann Rorschach, is a psychological test where a patient is asked to describe what forms he sees in mirror-image inkblot marks on paper. The psychologist then used the patient's interpretation of the marks to adjudge what that patient's state of mind or personality characteristics are. It has been used to detect latent thought disorder in people, especially in cases where patients seem to hold back, and wouldn't volunteer to describe their thinking processes openly.

Arkong Bato (Stone Arch), 2008, oil on paper

Brown Cliffs of Nowhere, 2008, oil on paper

White Widow, 2012, acrylic monoprint on paper

Segmented Rainbow, 2012, acrylic monoprint on paper

Herodes, 2015,oil on paper

Little Ben, 2015, oil on paper

Even though my paintings from 1981 to 2007 are of the realist mode, I have in my list of favorite artists ten abstractionists who I know are also masters of the realist technique - like Buds Convocar, Ross Capili, Max Balatbat, Isagani Fuentes, Fitz Herrera, Demi Padua, Allain Hablo, Gus Albor, Lao Lian Ben and Raul Isidro. Their art have inspired me, and drove me into dabbling in abstraction. With good result I guess, because after my painting Evolution of the Naos (bottom) earned accolades from an art dealer and a few fellow artists, I am now convinced that the abstract route is the one I should try to traverse from now on.

But some may question my leap into abstraction. I have been a realist painter for more than three decades now, and many art theorists look askance at painters whose shift to abstraction is rather abrupt. Well, all I can say is my shift was not abrupt, because I have been at it - experimenting in creating new forms and utilizing new techniques - since 2008. I have paid my dues, so to speak. And I can say with confidence that I have exhausted all the possibilities of realism and have nothing more to add to it. 

Unlike some child abstract expressionists, or even adults for that matter,  who've gained prominence lately - thanks to online hype and sleek marketing strategies - what I worried about in my early youth was how to get my drawings of the human form right. The thought of leapfrogging into being an abstract expressionist by creating art using the drip and splatter technique never entered my mind. Those "instant abstractionists" have not done right, in my opinion. They have not hewed closely to what art and being an artist is about. The word art after all was derived from the Latin ars, which means skill. Thus, a painter who aspire to do abstractions should hone his skill in drawing and realistic painting first. He should first learn the rules before daring to break them. 

Evolution of the Naos, 2008, oil on paper