People who need certainty in their lives are less likely to make art that is risky, subversive, complicated, iffy, suggestive or spontaneous. David Bales and Ted Orland
I painted The Map to Community during a difficult time. Support was waivering at the college Katie attends, her friends were busy with their own families. I found myself asking old, familiar questions like, “how do we get to this place called community?” and “What can I do help create real community that includes everyone?”
The Map to Community reflects my uncertainty around these questions. There is no apparent, clear path to membership, respect, status, belonging, contribution, and community in a vibrant community. We are left to make our way with more questions than answers. This “not knowing but moving forward anyway” situation creates tremendous ambiguity, the sort of ambiguity that hurts.
The quote woven throughout The Map to Community is from Mary Catherine Bateson. Her words give me strength, something to hold on to (ambiguity itself!). The alternative to ambiguity is to slip into something more comfortable, less risky, less lofty a goal as community.
Ambiguity is the warp of life, according to Bateson. Warp is the yarn that extends lengthwise in a loom. Warp creates the foundation or base for weaving. I understand Bateson to mean that ambiguity creates the foundation for something to happen. It creates the context for a creative life. The trick is to be willing and able to endure the discomfort of not knowing, to put one foot in front of the other as a way to make the path and learn as we go.
Adapted from We Dance Together, A Painted Essay About My Education with Katie
