In 1878 Vincent van Gogh wrote to his beloved brother, Theo, "..if only I could rid myself of this uncertainty and have the firm conviction that I will eventually overcome amnd succeed,.."
Find out a bit more about the painting.
A number of years ago I created a wheatfield with crows canvas garment work. First, paint the canvas,
In October 2024, Rei Kawakubo presented the Comme des Garcons Spring Summer 2025 collection, 'Uncertain Future'.
Whether she was referring to geopolitical, climate or economic issues, Kawakubo's comment was, "With the state of the world as it is, the future as uncertain as it is, if you put air and transparency into the mix of things, there could be a possibility of hope."
These garments from the collection seem to express some of that air and transparency.
Sometimes uncertainty might make you want to hide inside and be protected from the situation.
Do these collection garments give that idea?
Uncertain Future.
Navigating an uncertain future can be unsettling, stressful and all consuming. People can feel like they are just existing, as the road ahead seems foggy with uncertainty. It can be paralyzing as though the future has no possibilities or potential for them.
Dr Steve Himmelstein studied under the concentration camp survivor, Viktor Frankl.
How do we do that?
Alli Polin suggests that "3Cs" is a way there.
Start with Confidence.
Trust yourself. Trust that you will figure out a way to survive the situation. Trust that if you do fail in this matter, it doesn't mean "you're a failure". One thing essential to confidence building is that you take action.
Comptence.
It grows by trying and learning, and comes from doing, not just thinking about it. Competence is within your control, but you will not be perfect at everything you need and want to do. Think in terms of "collective competence" when struggling, and turn to others who can compliment your gifts with your own, and vice versa.
Creativity.
Uncertain times require us to pull out our creativity. Don't become a victim of circumstance, become a creator of your circumstances. Creativity is original thinking, inspiration, and...doing!
That talk about "failure" takes me to the Samuel Beckett collage I made last week.
This site will help you to comprehend what SB may have been on about. There was one sentence that totally resonated with me!
I was at the hairdresser the other day, and came across an interesting event programmed for the Writers Festival. "Success - much like life - is not always linear."
When I was going about the research for my blog, I discovered this project, 'Following Fire: A resilient Forest/Uncertain Future Photography Essay'.
It is a wonderful work.
A scientist and an artist worked together to produce information and photographic images of a wildfire that had spread through a forest and its response to that devastation. The photographs are fabulous. I really like the respect that the scientist and the artist demonstrate and express for each other's skills and knowledge.
The 'uncertain future' element relates to:
- invasive species
- intensive forestry
- climate change
Sounds familiar, doesn't it.
In case the video doesn't work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2wDcXL1BgQ.
When David Bayles, the photographer of the above project, was sharing his story about the boulder and the glacier, it made me think about English artist, David Nash's Boulder Project.
The properties of geometric forms, pyramids, spheres and cubes, fascinate David Nash. He skillfully creates such shapes out of fallen or uprooted trees. Much of his art involves a strong interest in ecology and the environment.
In 1978 he rolled a large wooden sphere, the boulder, into a river near his studio home in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. It would prove to be a 25 year project, during which he recorded the boulder's movement and changing environment.
This will provide a little more about the Boulder's Story.
Some of David Nash's wonderful 'Pyramid Sphere & Cube'.
I saw the above exhibit at TATE St Ives.
It inspired me to create a black velvet soft piece, stuffed with polystyrene balls.
Environmental photographer, Margeaux Walter works with the mediums of installation, video and performance, to express issues relating to climate change, conservation, consumption and waste. In some of her work, she arranges herself into concealed poses,by wearing garments or holding fabrics that match in with the surroundings.
I like her photos that reflect the affect of various wildfires, 'Epilogue', the aftermath of wildfire in Yosemite, and 'Cima' Mojave after a wildfire singed and toppled a grove of Joshua Trees.
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| Epilogue |
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| Cima |
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| Landslide |
If you would like to see more of Walter's work, visit this site https://www.margeauxwalter.com/projects
Nature and creativity, here's a great image of that
The Covid 19 Pandemic was a time of uncertainty and high emotion, yet massive creativity (I can vouch for that).
When Italian photographer, Nicola Bertasi, was confined in his lockdown, he delved into past pandemic events and discovered similarities. His 'Postcards of an Uncertain Future', present a visual narrative, blending the past and the present in times of a health crisis.
'An A-Z of an Uncertain Future', is the work of conceptual artist Idit Nathan, who often creates interactive projects i.e. having members of the public involved in the work in some way.
The A-Z project was created in 2022, so may have had a pandemic basis, but I am not 100% sure on that. Nathan used postcards as a way of prompting conversation with people, as they allowed an anonymity, when it came to responding to questions. (I once undertook an interactive approach for a project, and it was not necessarily plain sailing).
She was inspired to use this method after reading about Otto and Elise Hampel, an everyday ordinary working class German couple, who attacked Hitler's despotic regime with a series of postcards, which they left in public places around Berlin.
The project resulted in Nathan creating a visual alphabet of images that she hopes will help us to learn and accept new possibilities, to restructure thought patterns and be unafraid to embrace the unknown.
This link will take you to images of 'An A-Z of an Uncertain Future',
but, I am particularly taken with Nathan's notes on the collages.
I think there are points of comment in here that we can all find are relevant in our lives.
Climate Change is providing uncertainty in our lives.
Some people still deny it.
Alexander McQueen was thinking about it in the last fashion collection he presented before his suicide on 11 February, 2010. Spring/Summer 2010's Plato's Atlantis, with beautifully printed dresses, imaginative make-up and hair plus 12" heels, epitomised McQueen's creative comments concerning rising sea levels. It was the first catwalk collection to be live-streamed, so democratised the often elite fashion shows, making them more accessible to the masses.
Bits and pieces of interesting information about the collection. You want to view the shoes!
Vivienne Westwood was a great climate change campaigner.
Her show of climate protest in the 2019, 'Homo Loquax'.
This is an interesting site for educators and facilitators. A list of curricular ideas concerning climate issues, are presented as flashcards for encouraging classroom work. Lesson plans are also included.
A still shot from the Ingmar Bergman film, The Virgin Spring. Does it evoke despair?
When people experience prolonged or intense uncertainty, they can feel despair. Anxiety and worry are the initial response to uncertainty, but it can escalate into deeper feelings of hopelessness and despression, despair.
American farmer poet, Wendell Berry wrote a beautiful poem, with this first line,
"When despair for the world grows in me"....The Peace of Wild Things
What about this for an uncertainty, handwriting.
On this blog, the author reviews two books written about the subject. I remember being in a staff meeting where the DP expressed that one day the students would not need to write by hand, as it will all be done with a keypad. I was rather shocked at the time, but there is some truth to it, but I love handwriting, as it is the depiction of an individual.
For CTANZ's Context 2026 winter edition, the editor called for works that connected with the theme, Creativity under Uncertainty.
I submitted my interpretation and I have been informed it will be published.
This is the draft that is to be printed, but me being me, is uncertain about it being published, until I actually see it!
I hope aspects of this blog, might offer some help if you are feeling uncertain about something in your life.
Confidence, Competence, Creativity, and don't forget that concept of "collective competence".
sltsltbsigns off.
