Art and creativity are the instinctive voice of the human imagination. The creative efforts of a people in the world today, or at any point in history, is a representation of the “shape” of their thoughts and ideas about the world around them. With no standard for what makes art a compelling creation, with an attitude and charisma that signals it not just a mere piece of furniture, with no absolute authority on what is to be deemed compelling and mysterious, and what is mere flat, flavorless graphic design, we are at the mercy of this individual artist’s notion and expression of what gets the job done, in terms of seducing an audience. The following discussion, among viewers then, is about how much we buy into this individual artist’s “definition.” If the artist can convince enough people in the community that he or she has got not the “right” answer, but at the very least an interesting answer, as to what makes a work of art more than mere graphic design or furniture, then the artist is in business.

It becomes an endless journey then, to discover the “different sides of life” exposed to humanity through artists eyes in different time periods and across different cultures. Turning a physical object into more than just flavorless furniture has no definite technique or method, just what “we” can imagine it doing, charisma-wise, that is.

The art of Sandro Sebastian seeks to draw inspiration from historical references, going back not just to the European Renaissance, but ancient empires such as the Egyptians or tribes of lower Africa as well. Different cultures with different modes of giving character, life, mystery and charisma to hand made objects, so that they transport the viewer into specific registers of human emotion, and provide insight for all artists, whether their own personal worldview overlaps with it or not. It is in this exercise that minds are opened, perspectives broadened, and deeper insights into the human condition are realized.

When I look at Aztec painting, or a classical Japanese wall scroll, then look back at a Renaissance master that defines the western definition of genius, such as
Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci, then return my gaze to the ancient Egyptian empire, hearing the voice of a people that are more of an enigma to us than anything, I see the remarkable truth that we are all looking at the same life, we are all having the same human experience, we are just looking at it from different angles and deciding that different things are important.

This perspective on life, shared by a community of people, gives us a hint as to how they look at life in general, and what is important there. Cultural values, which are equally subjective as art, are yet another element of the shape of the human imagination. It’s another part of that language being spoken in actions, where we decide how to treat and respect each other based not on fact and logic, but our imagined notions of ourselves inside of our heads, which will never be completely agreed upon.

When my mind was freed from the constraints I didn’t know it had, I was given more creative freedom to decide for myself what was important in my own art, and expose a new side of life to my viewer that refreshes them as much as it refreshes me. Through times, eras and civilizations, there is most certainly a “Golden Thread” that runs through all of this.

-Sandro Sebastian

Sandro Sebastian Paintings: https://theartmonk.com/paintings/

Sandro Sebastian Music Video: “Hold On”
https://vimeo.com/58160000