Dennis Konstantins’ Quantum Realism
Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today.
David Bohm
Born 1979 in Wiesbaden, Germany, the young artist Dennis Konstantin has produced a fascinating oeuvre with a high level of technical and stylistic sophistication based upon the themes of flow, holographic interconnectivity and temporal change, which he has experientially charted through psychonautic experimentation. Dennis kindly agreed to discuss and exhibit his work with Lila upon the theme of ‘Quantum realism’ in art.
Daniel Mirante
Dennis, congratulations on this new body of work you have shared with the world through your website and prints. It ‘sings the body electric’. Your work, which you describe as quantum realism, purports to depict the “constant transformation of matter”, to “make visible the inner Structure of the Object, its underlying form principle… and maybe most important its connection to its surrounding.” I am very inspired by this artistic mission. One thing I am interested in is how you arrive at the insight to be able to depict things in this way ?
Eines-schoenen-tages
by Dennis Konstantin
Dennis Konstantin
Well, to answer this question, I guess I have start at the beginning.
My first interest in art came up at the same time my teenage mind felt a strong discomfort with the Design, society offers for the conception of our reality. I felt something missing in our society, the truth behind the obvious, and more the ‘not wanting to find out’ of the general public. I think that is how all the stories of us modern ‘Seekers’ start, that we find out that there is so much hidden knowledge waiting for us out there , knowledge which has been lost in our modern culture.
Once I took that path, things were revealed to me step by step, reading Carlos Castaneda’s Books and having had a very strong natural out-of body experience, led my art more into a spiritual direction, as before it was very dark, pinpointing at the stupidity of war, hatred and consumption.
Once a being is on a spiritual path, one understands that the dark is a fundamental part of the whole, and one rather looks at himself, than wanting to change the world.
My journey led me to the visionary architecture project Arcosanti in Arizona where I worked when I was an architecture student. At that time I was fascinated with the Theories of Quantum Mechanics and the Superstrings. I felt that these theories where almost able to describe the Holy in a scientific way.
The same time I was at Arcosanti, a spiritual writer from San Francisco stayed at the guest houses, we became very close friends and one night he introduced me to infinity. It was my encounter with the true ‘Abstract’, under the influence of a psychedelic plant, which made the scales fell from my eyes.
Everything started to make sense, because I could see and feel the holy, infinity or however you may call the ‘whole’, with my own eyes and body.
The reason I am so fascinated with the Superstring Theory, is the fact, that it describes space as a vibrating field. There are no differences out there, matter doesn’t exist. Imagine that every point in space has the possibility to vibrate in unlimited patterns. A certain vibration is a certain molecule, water for example – when it turns from liquid to gas, space slightly changes the way it vibrates. Space underlies constant change, solidity is an illusion. This conception in my mind gets clearer and more logic every day, right now I am struggling to pin it down to canvas, to find the right technique to translate it to a 2 dimensional surface.
Daniel
Thank you for that response. I think that period of struggle and disillusionment is a very common and necessary passage in spiritual awakening in our culture. Sometimes I feel though that some people get trapped in the disillusionment, the deconstruction, and become full of irony, and fail to find the ‘redemptive vision’ that you describe as being ‘the scales falling’ from your eyes that night in Arizona. So many cultures use these plants as rites of passage to true adulthood.
But what do you think is the nature of that urge, that requirement to ‘pin it down to canvas’ ? What, in other words, does the process of art do for you ?
Dennis
One of the most wonderful things about art, is the fact, that it is nothing fixed. It is something in the air, you can use to create whatever you can get a hold of with your mind..
With Art we try to imitate pieces of reality, be it an idea of the construction of reality, emotions or a nice tree we saw yesterday. Art is like giving new life to things which already exist, only filtered by the artists mind.
But I am learning right now, that this process of filtering out, is the essential lesson an artist has to learn. To pick things out of unlimited possibilities, arrange them in a new way, to give new meaning to them, and their own autonomy.
A good example is when I began with my abstract paintings. I started with a set of lines going over the canvas, then a second layer of lines corresponding somehow to the first one. 5 more layers and I had a chaotic arrangement of lines interfering. Out of this chaos I saw a form crystallizing, and I went on concentrating on that form, bringing it to life with more lines, shadows and highlights. The new form is still a part of the chaotic, but visible, because only ‘parts’ of the chaos are highlighted.
I felt it to be an attempt, almost scientific, to imitate the way space works. The Stringtheory underlines that every point in space can vibrate in any form it likes, once the information of that particular form is in that point in space. So information and form is one and the same. I could talk for hours on these topics, but therefore I have my figurative work, which tells the story of a human being realizing that all around him, including himself, is one big vibratory bliss. To tell that story I need the knowledge of form I can only gain by this scientific research I do with my abstract art.
Daniel
I can detect a lot of correlations between what you are talking about, and the ancient Tao. What I enjoy about your work is the affirmation that it is possible for humans to move from fragmentation into the Tao, the continuous state of flux from which observable phenomena, seemingly solid objects emanate.
One benefit I see of humans learning to see in systems rather than fragments is to heal the problems that are born of dualistic and fragmentary mindsets, such as war and environmental degradation, which arise bottom up from the seemingly innocuous behaviour patterns of societies. Art to demonstrate and attest to such possibilites is very important since people have become quite blunt to words.
What are your feelings about the visionary art movement as it stands ? What are your hopes for its future ?
Childhoods-end
by Dennis Konstantin
Dennis
Trying to answer that question, I feel a big difference between two worlds. Cyberspace and reality. While I am very satisfied with our global gathering 24/7 over the internet, I am very depressed by the situation in the real world. Right now, here in Germany, where I come from and live at the time, doesn’t exist a visionary art movement.
The art mainstream reflects the mood of the people, who are somehow not knowing where to go, and having nothing to refer to in history. The disgust for our own past, twists our cultural identity, and leaves people and artists stumbling on a path to an unknown goal.
Actually that should be a good ground for completely new seeds to grow, but right now I am having a hard time finding the right soil. I felt a much bigger acceptance of that kind of art while I lived in the US, where I found people being much more open to ‘phantastic’ and spiritual issues. I think that the Americans don’t fear the unknown as much as we Germans do. So, my hopes for the future include the wish to find the right soil here in germany, having the possibility to reach more people and to start a broader dialog.
My fears are, that the term ‘visionary art’, can be misunderstood and misused. Under this tag you find very unique artists, coming up with their own visual descriptions of realms not yet discovered by the broad society, but already existing. These artists have the gift to visualize what millions already feel, dream and live. You are completely right to say, that we need the arts to demonstrate and attest to these possibilities and realms of consciousness.
But what is ‘visionary’ in painting things that already exist, only hidden under the surface of the obvious… Because of that, I like the term ‘quantum realism’, which talks about reality, the present moment, only below the obvious.
Daniel
Any words on the highest mission of art in the present times ?
Dennis
One great goal is to find the union of the insights of modern science, with the spiritual knowledge, humankind has gained over thousands of years. The union and the inner coherence of all things that exist, is not only the central theme in eastern religions, but also the fundamental world-view of modern physics. By trying to understand both, they are able to inspire and give more meaning to each other – which will result, I think, in a much better understanding of the ‘fullness’ of reality, which will include the opening of new territories of our imagination. Once our global imagination can reach new realms, society might be able to transcend itself, and step forward into a more meaningful and aware present.
Daniel
Dennis, thankyou so much for taking the time to participate in this exchange and sharing your exciting and beautiful paintings.
View more painting by Konstanin atwww.denniskonstantin.com
God atomic and poetic, in what wisdom does it twist and shake
To form its creation ;
A static ocean, in perpetual transformation
Bacterium opening itself up to the plenum
Patterns in noise, tryptamine revelation,
Diamond fissures growing in rock ;
Ineffable dimensions, behavior of little bits
Turning/coiling/swirling = and lo,
Here we think and move together, little flower.
‘Bypass the psychic labyrinth’ by Daniel Mirante
Finally, an artist i can relate to.
I think the term “quantum surrealism” applies even more to this guys work.
Nice stuff as well!