December 2007
Emotion is the most controversial and disputed factor in artistic creation. It is almost universally acknowledged that emotion can be a trap for the artwork. However, it is equally paradoxical that one should avoid, and thus exclude from the creative process, the most intense emotional element, which is emotion itself. If the problem exists in every art form, it becomes explosive when we touch on photography and even more so on cinema, arts that use reality and life as their primary materials. Most often, when emotion is evidently present, it results in works that are superficial, unambiguous, populist, and shallow, exhausting themselves in the consumption of emotion and stifling any artistic proposition. However, works that are utterly devoid of emotion or deliberately suppress it are almost impossible to excel. Such works may be distinguished by their artistic style, and the presence and skill of the artist may be evident and commendable, but usually, the transcendental dimension that allows the works to soar is absent. The solution to such a divisive problem is neither simple nor uniform. After all, the sought-after synthesis itself constitutes an artistic proposition. Oversimplification risks aside, one can pinpoint three essential points for formulating a convincing synthesis that ensures the presence of emotion while also subordinating it to the artistic proposition. First: the significance of a work, directly linked to the kind and intensity of enjoyment it provokes, depends on the emotion it contains and simultaneously releases. And emotion is always a combination of feelings, experiences, knowledge, artistic choices, and above all, contrasts—the contrasts ensured by the necessary presence of the emotional and intellectual elements. These elements vary for each artist. Second: the emotion at the start or content of a work should be so deeply embedded that the artist himself forgets it. If the emotion is entirely outlined, defined, articulated, and perceived, if it operates on the surface, then the result will almost certainly be superficial. Third: emotion by itself constitutes such a catalytic presence that without seeking a counterbalance, it will become synonymous with the work, nullifying the contrasts and erasing the excitement. If emotion stems from life, its counterbalance must derive from art. Thus, the art-life, emotional-intellectual antithesis is achieved. The interplay of opposites, the compensation of emotions, constitutes the artist's most decisive and conscious intervention. The artist must continually realize that emotion is simultaneously an ally and enemy. And as his contribution grows, more effective defenses must be invented. When successful, this process lends the work intensity, strength, passion, and ultimately, emotion.
Plato Rivellis