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| 8"x10" oil Price $200 |
Figuratively Speaking - Art as Communication
I saw a quote today in a post by Brain Pickings (an online newsletter that is the source of almost all my reading material) that so caught my attention, I decided to write my own blog post around the idea. Even though this was written about words, I think it totally applies to paintings which are just chemical colors on something flat, at the basic level, but come to life and create a magic at the hand of an artist. Ursula K. Le Guin put it best in contemplating the magic of real human communication: “Words are events, they do things, change things. They transform both speaker and hearer; they feed energy back and forth and amplify it. They feed understanding or emotion back and forth and amplify it.”
A good painting does the same thing. It can be any style, any subject matter, but when someone is moved by it, it becomes a conversation.
I work at an artists' guild gallery a few days every month and I am always conscience that each person who comes in is seeking to interact with something. What is amazing, is that with all the diversity of types of objects and art, there is a different person to appreciate each and every piece. Frequently someone will fall in love with something that doesn't move me at all. I really like that because it reminds me that I am only one little (well, not so little) person with one little opinion. Even though there are others who would agree with that opinion, it really doesn't make it more valid or right. That is always a good lesson!
