New Epoch Notation Painting

Introduction
New Epoch Art Notation is a painting notation, a conceptual writing system or visual language for pure visual images. The purpose of New Epoch Art Notation is to enable the concise encoding of painting instructions for complex visual images without the need for pictographic sketches or conventional written notes. The notation system separates the act of conceiving an image from the act of painting. The score produced in effect becomes the 'subject' of any paintings produced.

It was developed by Australian artist Peter Graham between 1964 and 1987. His sons Philip Mitchell Graham and Euan Benjamin Graham have completed his work. Many other artists have contributed to the development of NEA notation, including Paul Cavell

Peter called his invention Notation Painting for many years but in 1985 decided to change it to New Epoch Art. The name is a reference to two quotations from Kandinsky's Concerning the Spiritual in Art:

:'To each spiritual epoch corresponds a new spiritual content, which that epoch expresses by forms that are new, unexpected, surprising and in this way aggressive...'

:'We are fast approaching the time of reasoned and conscious composition, when the painter will be proud to declare his work constructive. This will be in contrast to the claim of the Impressionists that they could explain nothing, that their art came upon them by inspiration. We have before us the age of conscious creation, and this new spirit in painting is going hand in hand with the spirit of thought towards an epoch of great spirituality'

What NEA Notation is NOT
New Epoch art Notation is neither an attempt to bridge the gap between visual art and music by assigning musical tones to colours (see Visual Music and Music Visualization), nor one of the many visual musical notations designed over the past 50 years as an alternative to traditional music notation. It is neither a visual art form exploiting the aesthetics of musical notation (see Eye Music), nor a color notation (see Munsell Color System), although it does incorporate a unique color notation that does not use a color wheel. It is not "notation printing" a term often associated with the printing of music notation. Finally, it is not Painting by Numbers.

Unlike many of the general movement notations created during the 20th century such as Labanotation, NEA notation is not an augmented rearrangement of traditional music notation. NEA was built from the page up, to facilitate pure visual or graphic communication.

New Epoch Art Notation differs from Bezier curves on many levels. First, NEA is not an algorithm, it is an abstract conceptual environment in which many constructs can be built, including algorithms.

Second, it is not a form of mathematics tailored to define or generate geometric shapes. It is a purely graphic language designed to build complex forms without use of any mathematics. In terms of education theory, NEA keys into rather than , (see Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner).

The reality of New Epoch Art
'Imagine if you will, an image, the size of any large wall; more than a shape, a whole universe of form displaying the bewildering detail of a bed of grass'.

'Every line and every shape put where it is on purpose, no happy accidents, no random use of gesture, and no reliance on drips or splatters. Every shape asymmetrical, and unique in form; its nature and position related to every other; and its position, the overall structure, never repeating the entire evolution of the image during its making, also premeditated and in fact, containing much of its meaning; a composed image that although subject to determinism, will never repeat itself even if the entire process of making begins with identical working conditions. The child of relatively simple rules that can be applied almost effortlessly be people with reasonable sensibility and craft skill but who NEED NOT BE ARTISTS; the participation of professional artists only serving to increase further the diversity of invention'. (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 13)

NEA Performance
'Imagine once more: a party. A room is set aside from the food and music and is transformed into a studio-cum-gallery. The paintists in their intricate monoforms stand on drop sheets of similar beauty. The performance is expected to last six continuous hours. It begins casually, people coming to watch as they please. Some quickly move on, some stay for a while, leave, and return as the performance progresses'.

'The canvasses are turned. Some people stay for hours, away from the noise, even for the entire performance. The paintists swap canvasses on cue'.

'People chat casually as they watch and talk to the performers as they paint. They ask about the workings of the score and a thousand other questions. An odd mingling of intense energy and meditative calm fills the room. Time ceases'.

'The paintings begin to take on the appearance of the drop sheets and the monoforms worn by the performers; more and more the paintists seem to be within the paintings. As the party begins to swing and inhibitions drop, the paintists invite others to participate. Interest in the performance begins to intensify. Those who observe periodically are astonished at the rapidity of change in the deceptively slow performance and that their friends are partially responsible for this change. Those who stay become devotees of the details, the technique and gestures used by the different performers'.

'The artists take back the helm towards the end in order to resolve the paintings. The finish! Where did the time go? Audience applauds, job well done. Paintings and memories are one'. (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 13)

New Epoch Notation Painting as an educational medium
'Imagine a teacher on a pleasant Saturday afternoon, shopping. Passing a bookshop, he suddenly remembers the year eights have reached a point where they need a new 'Set' to master. After checking the catalogue, he selects a promising score.
The introduction gives the usual social-historical background to the composition, the composer, incidents surrounding its creation, and even a history of notable performances or the set'.

'In his studio the teacher studies the score, the 'how-to' of the composition. Colour, and structure are all conveyed in chronological order and a step by step rough simulation is given at the end for those who require additional help'.

'The set happens to be a trio, one performer will use green-blues; the second, yellows; and the third, red and white. The year eight class has eleven children perfect! The teacher makes four copies of the score and spends the rest of the evening pondering the scale of the performances, which medium to perform with, and which part he will paint'. (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 13)

The structure of New Epoch Art Notation
NEA notation is a high level visual language. If you think of Bezier curves as a form of low level machine code for constructing shapes, then NEA is similar to a high level programing language, with its own graphic user interface.

NEA notation was designed by visual artists for visual artists working in a traditional environment with physical materials. The symbols and interface of New Epoch Art Notation are designed specifically for visual thinkers and to meet the technical and practical issues of visual art forms. The Notation can be used for any visual media using a 2D 'basic plane'. It describes what to paint, but not how to paint.

Computer generated images play no intrinsic part in the NEA language. It is designed to be low tech - but it's also designed with computers in mind. NEA notation could be digitized to work with information technology in the same way as English has been digitized for this web page, but computers are not essential to its use. All you really need is a pen and paper.

Having said this, it is possible to use NEA notation to design computer generated images on a conceptual level. You could use NEA notation to manipulate Bezier curves. The NEA notation can encode for any visual language and visual media.

The Score

A written NEA composition is called a score. The score handles colour, structure and placement.

The staff has three parallel lines: the upper definition, the horizon line, and the lower definition line.

On the extreme left of the staff are the colour symbols. The notation divides colour into seven distinct 'Primary Instruments': Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown, Black and White. Each Primary Instrument is represented by its own ‘Primary Symbol’. Combining these symbols allow you to describe all forms of pigmented colour. The symbols represent the appearance of paint smeared on a white surface. They are not a proportional mixing guide.

On the extreme right staff is the 'theme', which represents the structural building blocks of the composition.

In the centre of the staff is a diagram of the canvass. Within this diagram is all the necessary notation to direct the act of painting, i.e. looking, direction, proportion etc.

To read the score you simply read the colour, read the drawing and follow the diagram. Each staff in a score holds a single ‘turn’ or sequential stage of the painting.

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