Without subconscious faith, St. John of the Cross would not have started the journey. His quest leads him toward where he knows not by a way he knows not. It does not necessarily follow that the quest is, or is not, fulfilled - the quest being an inner condition related to subconscious faith. What matters most is keeping the eyes open for experience in new directions. Perhaps the Orient is inclusive what we term the accidental. The accidental can lead one back toward the conscious again if accepted and used; it can lead to art.

[...] the simplest form of teaching is to start a person on the plane of his imagination. This discloses his powers - or lack of powers - of observation. His consciousness or lack stimulates his observation, which in turn stimulates his retentive memory, and unites with imagination in the next attempt. This approach to teaching would appear very slow but it is a much truer path than the recipe methods taught by lazy teachers.


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(Notes selected from: Arthur L. Dahl (ed.), Mark Tobey. Art and Belief, George Ronald, Oxford 1984; Mark Tobey. Works on Paper from Northern California and Seattle Collections. Celebrating the centenary of the artist's birth, Stanford University Museum of Art, Stanford Art Gallery 1990; Mark Tobey. Paintings from the collection of Joyce and Arthur Dahl, Stanford University, Stanford Art Gallery 1967/68; William C. Seitz, Mark Tobey, The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1962; Mark Tobey. Paintings 1920-1960, Yoshii Gallery, New York 1994; Eliza Rathbone, Mark Tobey. City Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1984; Northwest Traditions, Seattle Art Museum 1978; Mark Tobey. Tempera, Gouaches, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Erker-Galerie, St. Gallen 1986/87; Mark Tobey. Between worlds. Opere 1935-1975, Museo d’Arte Mendrisio/Museum Folkwang, Essen 1989; Tobey’s 80. A Retrospective, Seattle Art Museum 1970; Tobey. Exhibition on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, Galerie Beyeler, Basel 1970/71; Mark Tobey, Editions Beyeler, Basel 1971; Mark Tobey, The Dot and the Circle. In: World Order, A Baha’i Magazine, Wilmette/Ill., Spring 1977; Colette Roberts, Mark Tobey, Grove Press Inc., New York 1959)