In the 31 minute documentary called "Fantastic Man" (Noisey, 2014), investigating the Nigerian electronic music pioneer named William Onyeabor, a visual artist named Lemi Ghariokwu is interviewed during the conclusion of the film, who makes this statement in regards to Onyeabor's visionary songwriting being more suited contemporarily than when it was originally composed: "William will have the last laugh now, like Fela [Anikulapo Kuti] is having the last laugh. So those are people that I call facilitators for change in society. When they start you don't understand them but eventually, [and] it takes time, but divine time is not human time. So here, this is like forty years after.”

The innate truth of this phrase, "divine time is not human time” — in relation to an artist's work, struck me with instant resonance. This idea infers that an artist channels vision from higher dimensions to this physical plane, and that there are distinct time differentials amongst the dimensions. It further infers that if an artist is working closely with higher dimensional vision, there is a clear possibility that the artwork may not be recognized for some time here on Earth. I agree with this. By being in this consciousness space of listening with intentioned clarity to that which is being channeled in feeling, concept, sight, sound, impulse, etcetera, the initial calling of the artist is enacted. The ultimate objective is to then of course accurately transmit the inspiration into a manifested state. Perfection is calibrated to the action of listening, in a code of conduct which equates to a mission of purity. Essentially, this process of actualization is to crystallize an expression which reaches to intuit a single facet of an amorphous cosmic symmetry. I perceive ‘value’ as the organized compression of information: in other words, ‘crystallization’. By actualizing channeled vision through focused intention, a metaphysical amalgam occurs where the artwork becomes energetically encoded by the artist with layers of converged information that have the potential to resonate with those who will eventually experience the completed work. It is because of the gravity of this phenomenon and practice, that I find it necessary to work primarily in silence; thus to maximize the listening. Because channeled intuition is of the wider galactic realm, an artwork’s calibration on Earth takes on a uniquely non-linear timing pattern within the societal context. This societal time differential is less available to predict and interact with in comparison to the immediacy that the individual artist potentially experiences in channeling an expression from their higher vision. Therefore in art making, as generally acknowledged, the most frequently challenging time differential exists between the artist's manifested expression and its relationship to the societal collective imagination; the timing of when a work of art is received by the people. Of course, once widely recognized, the artistic contribution is retrofitted to the societal imagination and commonly described as ‘ahead of its time’, ‘visionary’, ‘pioneering’, ‘influential’, and so on. And yet, from the standpoint of one's studio practice, since the time duration of an artwork's process to completion is created in a time-space framework independent of our standard societal measured time, a work's creation can feel in moments to be relatively illogical or unbound in its exploration. Alignment to the timing of public reception is usually unknown or may not match as initially projected by the artist. However while sometimes bewildering, this can serve the artist as a fortifying tension to validate the caliber of intention and vision being put forth by their efforts: measuring drive against resistance. As human beings, we participate in plenty of experiences and activities where the innate pace of the process itself dictates the time spent engaging in it. For instance: the speed of walking, the time it takes to eat, the time it takes to sleep, the time it takes to dream, the time it takes to make love, the time it takes for a baby to stop crying, the time it takes for an injury to heal, the time it takes to have a good idea, and so on. While there obviously is a wide range of nuance and time duration for all of these human experiences, essentially and nonetheless, they are all derived and directed by process, where time spent and engagement are integrated. Since art making is an endeavor distinct to human beings, honestly approached, it should be no different. A master work is ultimately timeless and priceless. It's the core concept that drives the machinery of the art industry in its penultimate institutional states, of the auction house and the museum. If we truly believe this, which I certainly do, then a deep responsibility is bestowed upon the artist, and the energy and presence of the object must be acknowledged as solid fact when encountered in its completed physical state. Traditionally and logically, artwork is made for posterity as a permanent cultural record. Its exponential value is contained in its physicality, and its presumed permanence is testament to this perspective. The caliber and quality of an artwork's energetic presence then becomes the consideration, such as: the density of its converged and crystallized dimensionality, its purity and immediacy of vision, its resonance to distant reference points in time and space, its pronounced permanence, and so on. To my mind and as discussed, the most direct approach to achieve this, while at times seemingly indirect, is to create the work ideally in its 'own time’ from 'god's time’ — potentially antithetical to the timing of the art world marketplace to which the artwork is truly and literally valued in. This is the magic and fertile tension of artwork in the art world; a continually shifting kaleidoscope of manifested visions made in unique and specific time differentials, entering the shared spaces of standardized societal time.The artwork becomes a true gift from the galactic realm, through the inner vision and body of the artist, into this physical realm, experienced by each viewer individually, within the shared societal imagination. Ebbing and flowing consciousness energy, through the crystalized vessel of the artwork in god's time.

Josh Nusbaum, May 2017.