Who are your favorite artists?
I would definitely have to go with Vincent Van Gogh in terms of visual artists.
I know it can seem cliché since he is one of history’s most famous painters. Yet before the fame, he was plagued with so much in his life. He took his own life depressed despite his works being worth millions today. Yet that pain and suffering probably isn’t what attracts most fans. It’s how he took some of the things we take for granted each day and exposed the beauty of them. He found things to appreciate in a world filled with pain. It’s almost as if you can feel what he was going through at the time if you look carefully and closely at each of the brush strokes. I was blessed to have seen his paintings on a tour at the Philadelphia Museum of Art back before I had my daughter. It was then that I truly became an admirer. This prompt actually reminds me of a scene from Dr. Who when Van Gogh is brought to the present to briefly see folks admiring his work in a museum.
Even though fictional, it is that glimmer of hope the actor, Tony Curran displayed so well that brought me to tears. He showed a man who despite seeing the joy of how his art would live on, that same joy could not take away the pain of finding true peace only in death. He cried tears of happiness and yet the Doctor knew it would not prevent the inevitable. Still, that moment at least gave him a glimmer of something. That same something meant that his life, death and art were not in vain.
I know Dr. Who is all a work of fiction but it resonated with me as a fellow artist. I may not have much and it seems that in this digital age, written art is dying a slow death. But in my departure, it can be eventually appreciated… I hope.
(and no this is not a good bye)
From dancing, to sketching, to writing… each time I express myself, I don’t do it for others but my myself. I hope that folks can see and appreciate what I am doing but funny enough, that is not my main goal. Most people want to be seen or heard. In the end, I just want to be understood. That being said, art is subjective and expressive but sometimes it can be objective or even literal. I like to think of Van Gogh as a little mix of all of that. He was so torn by his inner demons, perhaps what would be diagnosed today as bipolar disorder. Still, he found something beautiful to paint. Maybe it’s why I have always been drawn to his works (no pun intended…lol)
Most people think of Starry Night (a personal fav), which he actually did from a mental facility. Again another example of beauty in a dark moment.
There’s also the infamous Sunflowers, which many believe he did in a state of happiness and gratitude.
Another fav of mine is the Wheat Field with Cypress, which is the cover of an old journal of mine. Funny looking back, a lot of my darkest and saddest moments are in that very journal.
But one of his lesser-known paintings is The Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette.
The irony of it and so much more behind this particular piece always intrigued me. Maybe it was because as artists, both he and I were avid smokers (I quit cigarettes about 10 years ago) … there is not greater irony of being addicted to something that slowly kills you. I don’t know maybe it was something he did since he had a great photogenic memory for the human anatomy or the fact that he knew that death is inevitable. Although Van Goh wasn’t known for being macabre or dark in bis works, one has no choice but to admire how expressive and intense this particular piece of work is, especially when you take into account his final words: “The sadness will last forever”…
Damn… it really hits hard and brings this painting into complete perspective.
Until Next Time Kiddies,
Shalom
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