The Spasm

by Jeff Whipple

The three irregular lines grouped together is a symbol for life, lifetime or a lifestyle depending on the context. The symbol is called a Spasm. The three lines depict the basic perception of pattern: one element alone has no meaning, two could be a coincidence but three elements related together is a pattern. The pattern of a spasm of movement is what distinguishes the animate from the inanimate and that’s why I use the Spasm as a symbol for life.

Spasms are used in my artwork in many different ways. If the viewer perceives the Spasms as a life symbol, the interpretation will depend on how the symbol is used in the image.

People are depicted with Spasms over their eyes or covering their bodies or faces. Think of how each person is affected by the lives of other people in the past and present. The figure in “The Historian” has Spasms all over his head. His profession is studying the lives of people in the past. The figures with Spasms over their eyes may refer to how some people see the world through their life experiences or through the experiences of others. Or they are trying to see some meaning in life.

In “Legacy” and “The Perpetual Spasm”, people are covered with Spasms. This could represent how our lives are affected by the people who lived before us. Or it could be about people who are burdened or blessed by other lives. Or the figures could represent societies or civilizations.

There are images of Spasms melting or burning like candles to represent how lives continually drip or melt away towards death. In some works hundreds of Spasms form a solid mass or fabric, which could represent groups of people, communities or human history.

The Spasm began in my artwork in 1982 as a painterly element. I used the 3 markings as a repetitive pattern that suggested it wasn’t random. At that time I began presenting realistic images within fields of colors and markings and I’ve continued with that same format ever since. I initially used the Spasms to define space in the fields of colors and create moods or visual rhythms. They were sort of like percussion in music and sometimes they were like stitching that wove the composition together. The Spasm began as a design motif to support the imagery and it has now moved to the forefront to become the imagery.