Three Paintings That Changed The Way I Look At Art and Life

Authentic and Surreal: The Giantess — Leonora Carrington

Interestingly, the painting is also known as the guardian of the egg. She, the “giantess”. And thus begin the questions.

What is the meaning behind of the symbols and icons on the blue-green background. The sea, the boats, the town, far away on a rock. Is it the world as far as the eyes of the guardian can see?

I will not lie, the painting left me with more questions than answers. And I thank Leonora for this. It is something one must at times accept. Though, oh boy, it isn’t easy. Possible at least, through art, the place where all can be is.

Others before have implied that Leonora’s figures are rooted in general mythology, but especially Irish folklore. So geese appear, and other figures with them are reimagined. A continuous recreation of the history of imagination.

How beautiful is she? How precious her grainy hair. And here, near my heart, I keep — protecting it as she protects the egg — the revelation that questions are at times more important than answers.

Ulysses and The Sirens — Waterhouse.

ULYSSES AND THE SIRENS — WATERHOUSE. AT THE NGV (NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA), MELBOURNE.

A friend of mine, Pierantonio, once found me at my lowest. I thought I was in love with someone, but it was really just a relationship of obsession, jealousy, and co-dependency. He sat next to me and told me a story:

Jess, do you know the story of Ulysses and the sirens? When I was in a similar situation to the one you are in now, I made a decision. Thinking of Ulysses asking his companions to tie him up to a pole so that he could go through with his plans even while listening to the sirens (think of it as temptations, habits, etc), I asked my sisters to hold my phone for a while so that I could not text my ex. I asked my friends to force me into a different conversation, and well, for me, it worked.

And like that, it worked for me. Fact is, that’s why myths are so stubborn in humans culture. They make sense, immediate sense.

And so I found myself in front of this painting, from one of my favourite painters: Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse.

I spent 20 minutes on it. I got lost in it. I thought I understood what my friend told me, the myth I had learned in school, and the lesson that served me well. But, I didn’t really — really — understand until I saw it in colours.

Ah! Van Gogh, of course: Wheat Field with Crows

WHEAT FIELD WITH CROWS, VINCENT VAN GOGH

Understanding how everything is possible through the evocative world of visual arts can only be done through the evocative world of visual arts.

How did this landscape change the way I look at art and life? For example, it changed the way I look for inspiration for my writing. Especially in poetry, and fiction.

Indeed, it was the base for one of my first short stories. I felt like I could see him, a young boy, not too wealthy, walking up the muddy hill. The crows, the blue, all inspired fear in his heart. And beautiful terror.

This work’s multiple interpretations are perhaps more diverse than any other in Van Gogh’s works. Some consider it Van Gogh’s “suicide note”, while others disagree.

Wheat Field with Crows is not, Van Gogh’s final piece. If the painting indeed was Van Gogh’s final effort before his suicide, it does make for a well-packaged interpretative present. Without a doubt, the picture is tumultuous, and it clearly portrays a sense of loneliness amid the fields — a striking image of Van Gogh as a dejected and alone artist in his later years.

What I see is sublime in expressionism. Or maybe, the most cynic interpreter in me sees this: a man, looking at the sky darkening, and birds flying. The image is so persistent that, even not completely understanding it, it must be preserved. With the voice of colours.

How can this painting not be life-changing?

“I passed beyond the unreality of the thing represented, I entered crazily into the spectacle, into the image.” — Roland Barthes