Monday, September 1, 2008

Punctuated Equilibrium



Punctuated Equilibrium, a theory of evolutionary change as environmental causes affect a species, has some social applications as well:

" ... models of change from different domains and found similar patterns between the way that change is thought to occur in biological species according to the theory of punctuated equilibrium and the ways adults, groups, organizations and scientific fields develop. In general, the original formulation of theory has been used to explain patterns of change in groups and organizations where periods of "stasis" are punctuated by brief and intense periods of "radical" change. Two widely known applications of the theory of punctuated equilibrium in the social sciences are in organizational theory
and in the study of small work groups . As some researchers have noted, these applications of the original theory have shifted its focus of attention from "a theory about change in populations to a theory about change within entities" from Wikipedia

In a personal sense, as I come dangerously close to becoming irrelevent, space junk, like a member of one of those religions that ban sexual activity and therefore evolve themselves right out of existence, I make my feeble attempt to barely keep up with the new and hereby enter the blogosphere. Woohoo! I'll be using the blog as one way of updating my website and elaborating upon some of the ideas and issues that inform my work as it progresses.

In my current work, I am making correlations between issues of anthropology and my personal life. Using the macrocosm to describe the microcosm. In the series of encaustic paintings I am working on, I use color, texture, rectangles and circles to describe issues of relationship and change. My Zen teacher used to say that if you want happiness, world peace, enlightenment,et al, all you have to do is keep the correct relationship with all you encounter. Though simple, the task is not easy. So many variations are possible; some occur by choice, others by a moment of carelessness. There are lots of mistakes, and some of them lead to new directions and areas of interest. As the series progresses, I am often compelled to follow a direction I hadn't contemplated, one that, while unintended, sends me down a path more alluring than the ones I had chosen. From the first small paintings of about twenty squares and two circles in metallic powders and lipstick to the increasingly complex pieces I am working on now with hundreds of rectangles and circles, using every combination of material available, the issues remain the same. The same way one wants something exciting to happen in life every so often, sometimes that desire appears in painting as well...
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