Mark Rothko, is an American painter who is mostly known for his "colour field" paintings. Colour field paintings are usually painted on very large canvases as in 4x4 meters for instance, they are not figurative, as in they are not depicting a recognizable "something", and when Mark Rothko was asked: "What do you paint?" He answered: "I paint emotions".
Some of us may view a Mark Rothko painting and think "anybody could paint this, what's the big deal?" but for some of us, (this includes me) his paintings instantly connects with us on an emotional level, and for some of us, his paintings even manages to touch a part of us we may not even have a word for.
(The above painting is of course not a painting made by Mark Rothko. I decided to experiment with the possibility of making a colour field painting with inks and acrylics on water colour paper, and this is the the result of that experiment.)
For many of us, making sense of what we experience, is often important so that when we are faced with something such as a painting, a situation, a behaviour, etc. that seems to make no sense, instinctively our brains begin to seek for "reasonable" (in our view) explanations.
Brain: "what is this painting about? I don't get it, its just some paint on a canvas, there doesn't even seem to be any skill involved, is there even a meaning to it, and if so, how am I supposed to figure that out? Nah, this painting makes no sense."
"Divorce??What? She never said anything, why didn't she say something? This doesn't make any sense, it's not like her at all."
"Why am I always the one to pick up the pieces? There are others that are much better at this than me, I just can't make sense out of why I am always the chosen one."
I have a feeling that at some point in our lives most of us have asked: "Why is this happening to me, why me, what did I do to deserve this? It makes no sense."
In these enlightened and technologically whiz-bang days, in my view, we have grown accustomed to being able to find what we may consider reasonable explanations and answers to many complex and bewildering questions so when we are faced with: "sometimes things just don't make sense" this is an answer that can be very hard for us to digest.
When we say: "This makes no sense"... are we saying: "I don't understand this" or "this has no meaning"?
Or when we are saying "this makes no sense" are we perhaps saying "I don't understand this therefore it makes no sense to me and so I see no meaning in it?"
What we consider to "make sense" in my view has a lot to do with our personal experiences and how we interpret those experiences, our cultural backgrounds, our belief systems, and our upbringing.
"I always check that all my doors and windows are locked before I go to bed because once when I forgot to do so, someone broke in and stole some of my things, so for me, it makes sense to always check that everything is locked up at night." "I was involved in a whirlwind romance once which ended just as quickly as it began, so it makes sense for me to not rush into relationships because that way I can avoid unnecessary heart ache." "I am not interested in art so therefore it makes no sense for me to go to concerts or galleries."
For someone who loves the outdoors, sitting inside and reading a book on a bright sunny day probably makes little/no sense. For someone who loves socializing, staying at home and spending "alone-time" probably makes little/no sense. For someone who prefers to keep their cards close to their chest, sharing their inner thoughts and feelings with someone probably makes little/no sense.
And vice versa.
What we consider to "make sense" it seems to me, is more often than not, coloured by subjectivity and the depth of our understanding of the world we live in and its inhabitants.
By expanding our understanding, we gain insight, and by gaining insight what we may have previously have considered as making no sense, can begin to make sense.
Mark Rothko: "A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience."
"The most interesting painting is one that expresses more of what one thinks then of what one sees."
"A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer."
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