There is no nobler pursuit in life than that of enlightenment! Although in a somewhat different realm altogether, the Gautama Buddha had done that, and successfully made the leap to the divine,– so enlightenment is not a fairy tale or anything that is without precedent or basis!
Yes, the human spirit can be enlightened, and it should be !
In my painterly activities, I have intended to demonstrate a certain CREATIVE IMPULSE in painting, in contrast to  mere inventiveness of ideas. Ideas originated from mental activities and memories are extremely unreliable, (one may envision the mind as some sort of computer! If you go into the right kind of meditation taught by Krishnamurti, you may see it clearly, i.e., the human mind is no more than just a computer!)  By the way the mind operates like a computer,– how it feeds on memories and is fueled and conditioned by them in all of its movements, nothing ever originated from it can be called new or original. The resulting production can be no more than mechanical at best! That being the case, one can then proceed to see the vast difference between CREATION, which has life,– and invention, which is awkward, and basically  mechanical! The artistic genius is a natural, who produces true art; whereas the everyman artist is one, by the exercise of this computer- like mind, produces illustrations. In other words, the everyman cannot produce art no matter how hard he tries.
Even though the human mind may rank first among the primates, it is still a primate’s mind ! One may call it a “superior mind”,–but that’s about it! It is not to say that the artistic genius does not have the same monkey’s mind too, however, there is something mysterious that goes into his action of painting which eventually transforms it. Â What that is remains a mystery,– just call it a natural phenomenon !
Take the feat of flight for example: With a single leap, a bird is in mid-air. She does not require a runway for flying and her entire operation or attitude is charming to the extreme! How awkward is the flight of a mind-conceived flying machine, say a plane, for example, by comparison?
In a similar way, the artistic genius just takes a leap, and he is in mid-air! That is the incredible power of Mother Nature! It is inexplicable and mysterious, like life itself, but it is the reality!
Hence the difference between illustration and painting is just like night and day –separating that which has LIFE (Painting) from that which is mechanical, awkward and futile (illustration)!
A true Painting must be teeming with LIFE, in contrast to illustration,– which is anything but ART!
No matter how deep our emotional attachment to our preferences, there is truly nothing in an illustration other than platitude and entropy! Not unlike flying,–which is hardly a human trait, the everyman relies on the mind to “do art.”  Such “art” is inevitably conceptual and imitative! Look at a Norman Rockwell for a while,–then turn your gaze upon a Titian masterpiece. You can tell us the difference ! I have nothing against Rockwell, he is an excellent illustrator and he is American, too, –but Titian obviously has helped us in touch with greatness! Or one may read several chapters of Harry Potter (illustration for children) Vs. some Shakespearean verses (Art for the understanding adult!). Harry Potter may be interesting, but the same result unfortunately prevails. Shakespeare is true literature, whereas your Harry Potter can be no more than an illustration or narrative ! Finally, let’s listen to the Beatles’ for a while, then tune to Mozart or Beethoven. The difference between great art and illustration is vast! In all three instances, your soul is nourished by great art, whereas the more worldly stuffs can do little in that regard. They may entertain your curiosity or satisfy your emotion, but that is as far as they can take you!
It would be unacceptable if you say that difference cannot be felt! It would be even more so if you have decided to actively deny the difference, because you have your own preference of your Pop music, your Harry Potter, your Andy Warhol or what not!
It is unacceptable because you have denied enlightenment for the human spirit, to be in touch with greatness through the vehicle of true art. It is unacceptable because you have refused to enter the stream, which will eventually take you to the ocean! Â So it is pertinent for you therefore, as art student, to detect that irreconcilable difference by means of careful comparison from the start.
THE ALPHA SEER FORMERLY CALLED BEN LAU
