JOE TILSON The magic of simbols....

Reflections of an Artist

HOW I SEE ART:

Art is a way of understanding, of changing, of tuning into nature and its cycles.

“An artist is born the day he finds himself, that is to say precisely when he becomes aware of the circular maze so dear to Borges” (Quotation of Pierre Restany).

To go back and relate all the ins and outs of Joe Tilson’s artistic career is not simple without fear of repeating how incredibly successful he has been and to acknowledge his work.

The DADA Movement may be a good place to start at to see when “THE AWARENESS OF ONESELF” began to take form in Joe Tilson’s mind. However before commenting on our meeting I would like to take the time to point out what stands out beyond the visual aspect in Tilsen’s work.

The ‘magic’ symbols goes way back in time in history and the majority of great artists, past and present, including Tilson, have been mindful of keeping this memory intact at all times.

Joe Tilson’s works of art have abided by a desire to communicate with the spectator in a way similar to medieval architects who crafted “The Stone Books” that are our cathedrals.

Tilson uses carefully chosen primary colours in ‘bi-dimension’ combining with wood and other materials just before he begins to work on stone.

All the art critics agree on the fact that Tilson’s work is inspired by Dadaism, by popart; nevertheless, personally when I gaze intently at his art I am thoroughly convinced that the essence of his art draws on Kandinsky. It isn’t in the composition; rather it is in his desire to lay out a ‘a symbol board’ linked to geometrical figures and to the balance of associating primary colours, equally dear to Kandinsky.

Nevertheless, let us not stoop to mere comparison to describe the Master. Joe Tilson truly reflects his art or if you prefer, his art mirrors his soul.

To my mind, his most forceful pieces are his labyrinths because of the innate powerfulness of this symbol which has made its way through time and is routed in our ‘collective subconscious’ so dear to Carl Jung.

In 1970 when he decided along with his wife Jos, a sculptress, to settle in the countryside close to Stonehenge, it was in fact an instinctive step along his path in life as well as a meaningful one.

“Tilson's art turns to the might in myths which acts as mediators between mankind and reality, whence the endless questioning which in this capacity makes for a disquieting haven”.

Therefore, the greatness of an artist is not to create something known, but to succeed, as he himself declares, in tuning in harmoniously to nature and its cycles.

The magic language of symbols has evolved as he has travelled along his road in life. When we contemplate his present day work, it can be said that “Theseus has won thanks to Arianne’s thread” and has come out of “the circular maze of Borges”.

A man and his art have melded to become a great living Master named JOE TILSON.

G.QUARTIERI