I looked up the painting. One of the great tragedies in my life is that when I was in New York, the MET was closed so I didn't get to go in. I looked up the painting. Very pretty, and it was painted by skilled hands. But it does evoke a story within me. The way he depicted the peppers was so shiny and the colours that bleed from red to yellow into green. It's realism that makes me go back in time to my grandparents. The older table design and the knife that's so tool-like and not some designer element, the white colours of the walls and tones that are reminders of a kitchen without actually having to see anything of it. It's a different depiction compared to Edward Weston who's photography aimed to show eroticism towards the peppers or even how cookbooks always depict peppers as having one colour and being less reflective, almost giving a plastic-like feel. What I am saying here is that that pepper isn't perfect. But it perfectly achieves what it wanted to. My parting question for you, because I will read your answer but I feel I have said all I wanted, is. What do you think all that skill with light, colour, structure and all the other technical skills that are used in the creation of a piece of art, is for? Because if I wanted perfect symmetry I would draw a square, not try to make a dove symmetric. Technical skills are a crutch, a welcome one, to help the artist express what they desire. Being good at it does not necessarily mean you will be a great artist, the way that being bad at it does not mean you are a bad one. Technical skill is required for the smoothness of delivering a message. But different techniques are available for an artist to do so. Some opt for perfect clarity, telling a story with a crisp message, the way let's say the show House of Cards does, or you can make a piece that is not focused at all and deliberately leaves things hanging and half-finished like the show Atlanta or Sonny Boy. You look for value in art, not expect from it.

specialberry

2 months ago

To answer your question, as I mentioned in my previous post, it's about vision. It's the artist's vision of life and how he executes that through feelings, impacts, contrasts, and colour. When I look at a Greek statue, I don't remind myself of an ex-boyfriend and feel sad. I look at the statue for the beauty contained within it. Would the painting be bad if you never visited your grandparent's kitchen? Is your entire enjoyment of the art hinging on sentimental memories? Beauty exists outside of yourself and your identity. Respectfully, that painting has nothing to do with you, and it's not about you. Without you and your memories, the painting would still be beautiful.

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