Tim Lefens Lecture

 This past Wednesday I attended a lecture given by Tim Lefens. This is the man who came up with A.R.T. ( Artistic Realization Technologies) which is a program that I first learned about in my Art for the Exceptional Child class. His program was created for students who are quadriplegic, or severely limited when it comes to mobility. They use a laser and a trained volunteer (known as trackers) as their tools to paint on a canvas this in turn gives them a sense of freedom. When I went his lecture I was expecting to see images of the students paintings that he works with, but instead he lectured about his theories about art.

 His first theory was called the Death Bed Theory, which posed the question What painting would you want to view hanging across from your death bed? I thought that this was an intriguing question, what would I want to be the last image I saw before I died? That's pretty deep! To be honest I really don't know what I would want to see, I think it is because I like too many different things.
  The second theory was the Truncated Pyramid Theory. Lefens says that over the years we have diminished the idea of what "high art" is.  High art was originally at the peak of the pyramid and over time we have cut off the top of the pyramid and the only thing left is the "joke art". When he said this my jaw literally hit the floor! I thought to myself what a bold statement because there are so many contemporary artists in the world that consider inspirational, and high art in their own right and not "joke art".
   The third theory was the Double Funnel Theory in which Lefens explains that one needs to knock themselves down to nothing so they can expand and let go larger than they ever have before. He says one needs to surprise themselves to create great art, and the only way to this is to let go completely and surrender to yourself.
   Lefens theories are very thought provoking and valid in there own way, but over all I think Lefens is a bold figure in the reformation of the arts. He definatly has a firm belief in creating art for the beauty of it. If you want to learn more about Tim Lefens you can visit his website http://www.artrealization.org/