[Ailist] Abstract Quotation

[Roger Davies]

Dear all,

I visited an exhibition of Georgia O'Keefe's more abstract paintings and in
the accompanying text for one of them was this quote which I thought
parallelled the discovery phase. It reminded me how easy it is to get
blinded by the detail and ever increasing amounts of information we
experience every day and lose focus on that which is truly important and
special to us. That which defines us as individuals and communities.

'Nothing is less real than realism.details are confusing.it is only by
selection, by elimination, by emphasis that we get at the real meaning of
things'.
Of course getting those dealing with detail on a day to day level to think
about abstraction is a huge distance to get them across. I will be facing
this challenge this year. If anyone has any experience or ideas of the small
steps or pathways to take I'd love to hear them. I'm currently looking at
Bernard J Mohr and Larry Levine's  Whole System Design phases and seeing if
I can translate those to an individual level.
Happy 2008

Roger