By Angelos Merges. It’s technically beautifully painted and slightly uncanny. The last remaining human beings gather after a apocalypse to discuss the questio: what should we do now?
Mar 7, 2024
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I have so many paintings that I love and return to but this one is my deepest personal relationship. It is SO dark visually and thematically that each time you look at it, it feels like you finally see something new. It’s bizarre and haunting and there are these absolutely gargantuan naked male figures weeping in the middle ground.
In the research I’ve done, stunned scholars have theorized that it’s a reference to Michelangelo’s Ignudi’s or large naked male figures featured in a lot of his frescoes. But why are they at a Quaker meeting? Why are they so despairing? Quaker worship is characterized by a lot of internal prayer and silence followed by explosive fits of revelation and outcrying. It is a fascinating branch of Christianity and this painting depicts their private worship so well.
In all my research I have found no conclusive answer to the question of the giant nudes, but the question itself bring me back to this piece every time I visit this museum. Dark, haunting, a forever unraveling mystery to me.
Nov 2, 2024
cutieful painting i saw by dana schutz ::
Schutz painted this emotionally charged composition as part of a group of subjects she called "self-eaters," imaginary characters who have the power to regenerate by consuming portions of their own bodies. In part, such a hallucinatory narrative might represent an analogue or allegory of painting itself, a practice that artists continue to reimagine through both regurgitation and reinvention. Here, Schutz brings into being two subjects with mask-like heads who, in her words, are "sort of consoling each other," or else "trying to feel what the other one is doing." Evoking touch rather than sight might contradict the notion that painting is a purely visual medium, but Schutz’s work appears both optically charged and sculpturally formed, constructed of worlds within worlds.
Jan 30, 2024
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Understanding that mostly we are ignorant about many things leads to a state of mental bliss.
Apr 3, 2024
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And we criticize people. Strange somehow. try to do it the other way round. What an ugly tree (sounds ridiculous)! What a beautiful soul.
You will end appreciating people and nature.
Apr 8, 2024
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I like Instagram. The app steals some of my time, but I don't know what else I would do in those minutes. I follow people with similar interests, keep up to date with exhibitions, books, my favorite football players. Of course, I also follow my friends and acquaintances. I don't know why they do it, but I notice how many people ostentatiously post pictures of themselves enjoying luxury. They smile in front of laden plates in luxury restaurants, gaze over the edge of an infinity pool or show off their purchases. There's nothing wrong with that. I like luxury too. And unfortunately I indulge in it far too often. However, it would never occur to me to photograph myself consuming luxury. On the contrary, it would be embarrassing. Embarrassing because I know that I am incredibly privileged compared to the vast majority of people. But that's not the main reason. What hinders me is the nature of everything that falls into the category of luxury. By definition, luxury is something you don't necessarily need. Which goes far beyond what is essential for any life (that's why I wouldn't call art and culture a luxury). In my personal experience, luxury primarily serves to fill an inner void. When I feel the need for luxury, I am usually unsatisfied in some aspect of my life. And that's exactly what I don't want to externalize. So my aversion to this type of social media post is also a form of self-protection. I don't want to be perceived as the person who needs all this to be happy. It's actually quite a narcissistic trait.
(Sorry for grammar, I am not a native English speaker)
Feb 25, 2024