The Black Dot Examination.

Constructive Thinking.

The thing about an abstract painting is that everybody sees it very differently. As the artist of a few abstracts that have sold I often feel tempted not to give  my abstracts names but rather to just give them a number. 

I fear that by giving it a title it in someway gives an insight into what I was thinking at the time of painting, and so the mind of the viewer is led someway along a path that restricts what they might well have seen.

It gives me great pleasure when somebody sees an abstract very different from what was on my mind. Often when they describe what they see I look at my own painting again and see it in a completely new light. 

Which makes me think of the professor:

One day, a professor entered his classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. 

They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin.

The professor handed out the exams with the text facing down, as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked the students to turn over the papers.

To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions–just a black dot in the center of the paper.

The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, told them the following: “I want you to write about what you see there.” The students, confused, got started on the inexplicable task.

At the end of the class, the professor took all the exams, and started reading each one of them out loud in front of all the students. All of them, with no exception, defined the black dot, trying to explain its position in the centre of the sheet. 

After all had been read, the classroom silent, the professor started to explain:

“I’m not going to grade you on this, I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. 

Everyone focused on the black dot – and the same thing happens in our lives. However, we insist on focusing only on the black dot – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend. The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. 

Take your the eyes away from the black dots in your lives. 

Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with laughter!”

Have a wonderful white paper day.