“Art which does not reveal mysteries, which does not lead to the sphere of the Unknown, does not yield new knowledge, is a parody of art, and still more often it is not even a parody, but simply a commerce or an industry.” —Ouspensky
Right from the jump, my intention in Areh was to create a treasure—a physical piece of art, a large book beautiful in design, rich in content, created by like-minded professionals each working at very high levels in their medium. Luckily, I found those people, and lucky for me, they were into the idea.
Moving forward, my criteria for the presentation and final aesthetic of Areh was strict. She would be art, not advertisement, and her presentation would be decided only by those who created her, present in collaboration from inception to fruition—participating artists only. Friends, not strangers. For better or worse, in the end, her prose, characters and narrative arcs would reflect the skill level and editorial acuity of her author, and her final packaging would reflect the vision of those who labored to make her real.
I believe there are many people, just like me, who are growing tired of disingenuous and disposable art.