Interview with Ted Barr
How did your experiences growing up in Israel and your time in the military shape your artistic vision and lead to your transition from a military officer to an artist?
I believe in miracles. My country Israel is a miracle, the fact that I’m still alive is a miracle as the fact I was born - out of myriad sperms only I succeeded. During my army service I was enforced to have instant decision making, sometimes under fire, a wrong decision or ten cm to the right and I wouldn’t be part of this interview. Even in the deadly environment of war there are points of light, during the war in Lebanon we were ordered to cross the country from the Qaraoun lake in the east to Beirut, our army battalion crossed the Shuff mountains and at sunrise we suddenly stopped moving, I proceeded to the head of the convoy where I saw an unbelievable site. The reconnaissance commander was protecting a magnificent flower that grew on the road, he explained to me that it is an endangered species of a very rare orchid, and it shouldn’t suffer because human beings are fighting stupid wars, so, he directed our armored vehicles to a detour so the orchid won’t be harmed. More than 40 years passed and I still remember it as the ultimate act to cherish sanity and beauty, this is what I try to do in my art and teachings, reserve those isles of sanity and spread them to the world with my blessings.
the main lessons I have learned from my army life were:
Take nothing for granted - be thankful for each day you are given
Fight for what you believe - if they call you crazy you are in the right direction
Embrace the unexpected – change and surprises are essential part of life
Those are the lessons I am trying to deliver in my FLY workshops.
Your work beautifully merges celestial imagery with human biology, particularly inspired by Lennart Nilsson's photography. Could you elaborate on how this fusion shapes your artistic narrative?
I would say that first it shaped my believes and way of life, the artistic narratives emerged later. It has to do with a phrase I use often in my writings, I call it the separation illusion , meaning that we are accustomed to see the world as accumulation of separate entities. Viewing the celestial elements brings in mind that we are part of a much greater reality, our body is built out of trillions cells, the universe is created out of trillions galaxies, each cell has a nucleus and is composed out of myriad molecules and atoms, each galaxy is composed out of stars as our Sun and planets.
Every celestial object as every living cell is moving,
Movement marks life,
Energy marks movement,
Light is the custodian of the universe’s movement and energetic history.
Those are the topics I’m trying to depict in my art.
The celestial elements in my Deep Space series are inspired by the Webb and Hubble telescopes images, the cells and inner body organs in my Human Formation series are inspired by Lennart Nilsson’s photography. My current series is RECO, I’ll elaborate about it in this interview. Another art series is COL - Cycles Of Life, the weaving of the biggest and smallest formats in the universe by search of the spirit essence and light as mediators. I can say that all my life is a constant search for this eternal fusion which stand opposite to the separation illusion.
Given your extensive study in Symbolism, Buddhism, Ancient Egypt, Numerology, and Kabbala, how do these disciplines influence the symbols and themes in your artwork?
My research started with religions, I asked myself whether there is something in common between all religions, because if there is, it might hold a truth, so I started to learn the Shinto tradition in Japan, now I learn Japanese to better understand their profound way of life, I learned about the Aboriginal people of Australia, the native American tribes, I scratched the surface of the Kabbala and Buddhism and found out some very strange facts like the number 5 which is common in all religions I searched, it resembles the human being, and the number 8 that resembles the universe. Another common belief is that what matters in human life is what makes the body move, think and feel and not the body itself that has a finite time of existence, the human essence can vary in name: some call it spirit, the Indians call it Alma, the Jews Neshama, the Japanese Seishin, it’s all about the same essence that continues to exist in another form after the physical body perishes. I am using those symbols in my artworks.
Can you explain more about your unique 'Free the Life Within You' (FLY) method and how it guides your creative process, especially in mixing unconventional materials like oil, acrylic, and cold tar?
There are 3 main elements in the FLY method: movement, merging, layers
Movement – as all celestial elements and living things move externally and internally so there is a constant movement on the canvas. colors are blended on the canvas and are moved by sticks, we usually don’t use brushes, the flow of colors on the canvas causes constant changes, thus I say before each workshop ‘embrace the unexpected’.
Merging – as we are constructed from multiple complimentary and contradicting materials so we use contradicting ingredients as oil colors, cold tar and acrylics, in many of my artworks I add gesso with which I shape the stars or galactic forms.
Layers – we are built out of many layers, emotions, memories, relations so our artwork is composed out of layers, in each layer the same ingredients – oil, tar, acrylics and gesso. The merge between those unconventional materials causes surprising unexpected shapes, forms and colors. It is a neverending inspiring experience.
Since 2009, you've been teaching FLY workshops globally. How has teaching art influenced your own creative process and perspective on art?
The FLY method offers the participants a new way of expression. We use colors and canvases but it is nothing like a painting lesson. It is a free style process where the colors are spilled on the canvases, the canvases are tilted and tapped, spatulas and chop sticks are used to move the colors and shape - whatever comes out from imagination-sight-body correlation. Many layers, each a mixture of oil colors, acrylics, and cold tar, lead to unpredictable outcome. Sometimes we use gesso to create the outer lines of a shape or an image but even with this, the spill out and anarchy of the colors’ free usage determine a fresh vibrant art work or shall I call it soul work. Whatever the result, it is the expression of the subconscious. The inner creative forces may be dormant for years and then when freed, celebrate this freedom with creative zest on the canvases.
I usually start my workshops with meditation to weave the participants and focus them to one note, followed by short session of Tai Chi movements to start an inner oscillation within the body to be translated on the canvases later.
The FLY workshops are not painting lessons, but a call for self and collective expression by creating a secured stage of opportunities. The main aim is to bring joy and harmony by releasing creative energies from curious human beings that are willing to open and share their inner feeling and imagination. It is not only colors and canvases, but a live soul dancing.
FLY is a world movement for freedom, for unity, for releasing creativity, for bringing people together, for harmony and sharing good vibrations. In my vision I see mega workshop with thousands of participants raising and tilting their canvases in the air at one tone creating the biggest canvas ever together, sharing and expressing their lives with colors.
In each workshop magic happens. Our mission is spreading this magic and positive creative energy all around the globe.
You mentioned that in your belief, life and death exist on the same bar of existence. How is this philosophical viewpoint reflected in your 'Cycles of Life' series?
Darkness, death and great fear were my first spiritual encounter with stars and galaxies. It was during a war, an artillery shell exploded near me, shrapnel hit a young soldier tearing his head apart. It was a cold winter night the skies were clear. My dead friend was lying on a stretcher. We were a small unit in a midst of combat, united by the greatest fear of losing our lives. suddenly there were no more battle noises, the land seemed to quiten, not a voice, I raised my eyes to the skies, the stars were clear and brilliant, and with them the notion that I am but a momentary visitor in this world, I was born accidentally and soon would cease to exist. in terms of stars' life my span of existence is unnoticed, those stars would still be there shining on the skies long after my physical body would turn into ashes, and my memory would vanish without trace. What is the meaning of this young soldier’s life? he is still lying dead on a bloody stretcher, where is he right now? What is the meaning of my life? What is the meaning of such a limited body with 70-90 years of existence? And what are we in relations to those stars that radiate their energy and light without notice of our limited existence? Those were the questions that arose in me when I stood fully armed, freezing, and dead frightened, gazing at the stars, waiting for something to save me, may be a call for a cease fire, a resurrection of our dead friend, a light from above, a divine message that we truly exist, that our lives are worthy, that we deserve a bit of comfort, of tenderness, of simple human warmth. It was still the coldest night, our friend remained dead, we received no celestial signs, and there was no sign that this war will be over soon. I was a young officer then, the rest of the unit looked at me but I didn't really know what to do next, I tried to contact my battalion commander but he was out of reach. I ordered my soldiers to hide the best they can against future shells. Some medics came to evacuate the corpse of our friend. Then there was silence again, I began to write some notes in a military short water-proof notebook I held in my pocket.
If I’ll stay alive from this war, I promise to live my life in a constant search for its meaning
If I’ll live till tomorrow, I’ll learn to appreciate the Sun rays
If I’ll live the next hour.. a sudden bombardment started, its shells trembling the earth beneath us it was like the whole world was falling apart, the noise was unbearable, after ten minutes it was quite again only the smoke and the burnt smell remained. We hadn’t any direct orders, not to attack nor to retreat, we were stuck in the middle of an obscure war hiding as much as we could for minimal exposure, just to stay alive. In my notebook, I wrote: Staying alive for what?
I felt like all the universe is moving, nothing stood still, in this spot I thought about the fact that everything in this universe moves, all that move moves in circles, all that live, lives in cycles, all that exist is in the process of change, decay or refinement, so we are but a pure electrical essence that is encapsulated by a recyclable flash . The enigma of life is ours to reveal and it might be that I’ll leave this world with much more questions than answers.
This is the main theme of the COL series.
Instead of signing your name, you use a private symbol on your canvases. Could you describe the meaning behind this symbol and why you chose this unique form of signature?
I don’t sign my canvases by my name but by a symbol that encapsulates the FLY essence.
I previously explained that here is a meaning behind numbers:
3 - produce (mother, father, child)
5- the Human Being symbol (5 extensions)
8- the universe, completion
The Ancient Egyptian symbol of the Ankh speaks about eternity, the connection between the upper world – life, to the underworld - death, when the Egyptian priests held the Ankh upwards it symbolized life and downwards death. The Roman emperors used it as a sign of life or death in the Gladiators fighters arena.
The dissection of 7 and 3 is known in the Kabbala as the Divine Sphirot - keter, Hochma, Bina. The Sphirot are the ten spheres of being and transforming for the human and divine essences, they are the key structure of the Kabbalistic symbolic language.
The Earthly Sphirot are: Daat, Hesed, Gvura, Tifferet, Hod, Netzah, Malchut.
The two figures are made out of 35 white dots, each organ is made out of 5 dots.
Each figure holds an Ankh made out of 10 dots, 7 as base and 3 on top.
The FLY symbol encompasses my research and understanding about human destiny and the esoteric meaning of human life with its abilities to transform and change.
Having exhibited worldwide, from New York to Paris and Kathmandu, how have different cultures and places influenced your art?
The FLY journey is about finding what bind us as human beings rather than focus on what divide us. I have been teaching the FLY workshops all over the globe and found out that the same yearn for self-expression and the same WOW effect are there in every workshop no matter the country, region, religion or gender of the participants. You don’t need to teach a child to be creative, children are creative by nature, this creativity diminishes during school time, and in many cases vanishes completely at graduation, I delivered 3 FLY workshops at Symbiosis University in Pune for about 80 students, one of the photography students said to me after the workshop that his curiosity brought him to the first workshop, then it was the sheer joy of free self expression, and then the bliss of sharing his art, I said to him that I will quote him and I do so now, thank you Abhishek, to summarize the FLY journey: curiosity, joy, bliss.
You speak of art as a part of a collective effort to enlighten the world. Could you expand on your vision of the role of art in society?
Art can bring people together; it is an international language that doesn’t need translation. I’ll give an example of one project:
In 2009 I founded the Current Art Group, an artists and art lovers gathering now consisting of more than 7000 members worldwide, together with Memoir de L’avenir Gallery from Paris we initiated a project called Unity Flags in which we brought 4 groups of 10 years old children to create in mixed groups flags with the UNITY theme. The groups where from 4 different cities and 4 different religions: Christians from Nazareth, Israeli Jews from Binyamina, Israeli Muslims from Baqa el Garbiya, and Palestinians from Jericho. There where about 50 children participating in this project proving that creating art together can bring harmony and better understanding between children that without this project would never have the chance to know and listen to each other.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your art? Are there any new themes or methods you are eager to explore in your upcoming works?
There is a war in Israel nowadays, I hope it will end soon and I can resume my plans. My gallerist in NYC Lee Vasu, owner of the Dacia Gallery suggested I’ll have another solo show in NYC and we will do it probably in mid 2024
At Christmas I am focusing on designing new shoes and fashion items for my Etsy shop
And during December my Motiva project would be launched globally
My new book ‘The Man Who Was Almost There’ was uploaded this month on Amazon, my plan is to promote it on January with my other 2 books on Amazon, ‘FLY - Have Magic in Your Life’, and ‘Frau Gruber’s Farm’.
On 2024 we have plans to enlarge our furniture collection with Casa Arte company from Udaipur and to widen my collaborations with designers and architects worldwide
And I have some plans for Japan, I am in contact with educators there, checking the feasibility to deliver art lectures and teach the FLY method in Japan, so I’m learning Japanese which is a very strange language, but I assume those who learn Hebrew would claim it is the most bizarre language as well.
In your RECO series, you address the concept of perception and how it varies from person to person. How do you hope your audience will interact with and interpret the layered complexities in your artworks?
In my new art series, titled RECO – REvealment and COncealment, I delve into the boundaries of reality perception and contemplate the stories, images, or memories that shape our individual translation of reality. Each moment in our lives is a unique, never-before-experienced span of time. While our daily routines may appear repetitive, on a grander scale, we hurtle through space at an astounding 1.6 million miles per day, moving at a staggering speed of 66,666 miles per hour as our planet Earth orbits the Sun. With every passing moment, we occupy a new space, internally and externally, as our emotions, circulatory system, and nerves are constantly in flux.
Our perception of reality is ever-changing, influenced by what our brains choose to reveal or conceal. The same artwork can evoke laughter in one person and tears in another, while a third viewer might remain indifferent. Behind each scene lies deeper layers of perception, different hues of interpretation, memories, and beliefs.
In the RECO series, I grapple with this elusive nature of reality, using my artworks as messengers. Each artwork is built upon a completed artwork on a deeper layer; some are constructed from a composite of four distinct artworks. Yet, when viewed, the observer sees only the final layer, with subtle remnants protruding from the layer beneath. It remains one new artwork, and once it is completed, I am unable to unveil the deeper layers out of which it is composed. However, I have documented them, and they reside in my memory. What matters to me most is the viewer's perception of the artwork. Does knowing the fact that the artwork is created on a different artwork underneath makes a difference to their experience?
The same principle applies to our thoughts, relationships, and emotions—we reveal what we choose to disclose, and hide what we prefer to keep concealed. Our choices shape our perception of reality.
In the RECO art series, I invite viewers to embrace the interplay of revealment and concealment, encouraging them to embark on a journey of discovery and unlock the myriad layers of meaning concealed within the enigmatic world of art. In doing so, we celebrate the enduring power of art to reveal the complexities of human experience while acknowledging the mysteries that define our existence.
The idea of constructing artworks from multiple layers, yet only revealing the final layer, is fascinating. What inspired you to explore this concept of hidden layers in your art, and how does this reflect your understanding of human thoughts and emotions?
What we see is but a tiny portion of what really exists around us, what we smell is less than a precent of a dog’s smell sense, we are restricted by our senses and so are our thoughts by our education, and history, and our emotions by our inhibitions and culture, so, most of reality is hidden from us human beings. The little we show to the world or other human beings is like a tip of the iceberg just 10% up and exposed, and 90% hidden under the water, this is the starting point of the RECO series in which I chose to cover an existing artwork with new layers of colors and shapes, the new artwork is the merge of the previous art and the new images that take shape on the same canvas, we can still see and feel parts of the original painting but it is definitely not the artwork it used to be, the question is what I choose to hide and what to reveal? what I chose to expose and share? and what to conceal and keep underneath the surface? I hope that those questions would resonate with my artwork’s viewers. I see art as a medium for change, arousing new thoughts and emotions in the viewers.
What is the 10% we expose?
What is the 90% we prefer to hide?
You mention that the observer's perception is of utmost importance in your RECO series. How do you anticipate viewers' reactions to knowing that there are unseen layers in each artwork, and what do you think this adds to their experience of the art?
As I answered to the above question, I try my art to evoke existential questions about our human behaviour, emotions and destiny. The great question is what is the aim and purpose of human life? are we born on this Planet Earth at this specific time with this magnificent brain and capabilities with a certain purpose? In every RECO artwork I installed images and symbols, signs and figures relating and interacting in an eternal dance to decipher its meaning. The viewer is an integral part of every artwork, as the grass can’t grow and thrive without the Sun. the viewer - artist encounter holds for me a specific energy that is crucial for my artistic development, this is the reason I am doing all efforts to attend personally all my exhibitions worldwide.
In your Motiva Project, you've combined powerful celestial imagery inspired by the Hubble and Webb telescopes with profound philosophies, as seen in 'As Above So Below' and 'Cycles of Life'. Could you elaborate on how you translate such complex cosmic and spiritual concepts into the visual language of your art?
Words and images are integral part of my life, I write about my ideas and believes, and I paint the celestial elements inspired by the Hubble and Webb telescopes.
Motiva for me is the ideal meeting point of my words and my artworks. An artwork has the power of touching the viewer emotionally, sometimes without any seen trigger, it can evoke feelings, memories, and deep connections, inspiration quotes elevate the mind to a higher form of thinking, thus my Motivas for me are the perfect blend for sharing inspiration.
Motiva 1 – As Above So Below - the artwork chosen name is ‘Sagittarius A’
A Black Hole in the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy. The image that inspired this artwork is the outcome of 300 researches from 80 institutes global collaboration, that after 5 years made the first image of a Black Hole.
The original painting is made out of cold tar, acrylic and oil colors and was made especially for my Motiva project.
The term ‘As Above So Below’ is a Talmudic phrase indicating the resemblance between the largest elements in the universe such as Galaxies and stars and the smallest forms as cells and atoms. We are part of much larger reality in which everything is connected, the separation illusion exists only in human minds.
Motiva 2 – Cycles of Life – I started painting this series after reading the masterpiece ‘The Tibetan Book of The Dead’, the author Sogyal Rinpoche speaks about the transformation of the spirit in its varies stages of human existence. In the Buddhist tradition, there is an existence in a void form for many years till the conception, then birth marks the first physical seen appearance that lasts in most cases less than one hundred years then void again. Death is simply the time of the spirit leaving the physical body, we came with a box coated with flash but the physical realm is dominated by the spirit that is the energizer of our body, this energy is the custodian of the universal energy. As our Planet Earth can’t exist without the Sun’s energy so our physical body would turn into void without its spirit. In this sense the ‘As Above So Below’ and ‘Cycles Of Life’ Motivas are connected.
Your collaboration with various fields like architecture, automotive design, and fashion indicates a versatile application of the FLY method. How do these interdisciplinary collaborations influence the evolution of your artistic vision, particularly in the context of the Motiva Project?
For me the finished artwork is just the beginning. I find it much more inspiring to see a woman wearing a FLY dress than to have my art hanged in a museum. I have a store in Etsy where all the items are based on my art on fashion and shoes, it is a great boon to see my art resurrect from the studio, finding its way on many human beings worldwide.
I had collaborations with Ferrari cars, designing the Celestial Ferrari with my Deep Space art in Boca Raton Florida, and with Label 2 Fashion House in Milan creating a capsule collection exhibited in Milan fashion week based on my COL art series.
I collaborate with V5 architects’ firm in Israel implementing 4 artworks on building facades in Jerusalem. I have a furniture collection with Casa Arte from Udaipur, a handmade carpet collection with Bhadohi carpets and now the inspiring Motiva project that weaves art with inspiration quotes.
Wearable, useable and functional art-based items make our world more cheerful and colorful and I definitely want to take part in this revolution.
