Reality & Totality

To me, a story can be both concrete and abstract, or a concrete story can hold abstractions. And abstractions are things that really can’t be said so well with words.
—David Lynch

You might wonder why an artist, writer, writing coach and editor prefers the wordless world—despite the joy of elegant phrasing, compelling characters, and intriguing stories. You see—yes, you can cozy up to the concrete and parade persuasive facts, but the real zing arises out of abstractions. Inward, outward, folded, draped, textured, polished, hard or soft—dark and deep. Abstractions zig & zag—curve & creep. In the lively layers of contrast, lies not the unspeakable, but the experience of the ineffable.

Replete with additions & subtractions, friction & fractions, abstractions yield a perspective crosscut with reflections and refraction. Neither generated by AI, nor ambiguous by design, abstractions release insights into the ether with stellar precision.

Don’t be seduced by the sorcery of rhetoric where words get tossed out like party favors or detonated like bombs. Don’t be eclipsed by language and logic.

The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.
—Lucian Freud

So—to keep it real (but not concrete) and keep it light on words, whether you’re in the path of totality on 4/8—or on the edge—gaze up at the spirit dance of the moon’s umbra—to see what you see. What’s your path of totality? Natural or supernatural? Concrete or artful abstraction?

5 thoughts on “Reality & Totality”

  1. Just once, I would like to crawl up inside of your brilliant brain. Your take on this universe is endlessly fascinating. Thank you for sharing. Always provocative, always intriguing.

  2. Beautiful Martha! My world is both concrete and artful abstraction. Heavy on the abstract. No words needed.

  3. Stephanie Plaut

    The rhythm and repetition in this piece are an artful abstraction themselves. Each time I read this I hear/feel/think something new. So much meaning in so few words.
    Stephanie

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top