All art is a foreign city
Elizabeth September 16th, 2008
Red Lovers, by Slawek Gruca.
I’m coming out of unintentional blogging retirement to post this incredible quote that I came across today:
Long looking at paintings is equivalent to being dropped into a foreign city, where gradually, out of desire and despair, a few key words, then a little syntax make a clearing in the silence. Art, all art, not just painting, is a foreign city, and we deceive ourselves when we think it familiar. No-one is surprised to find that a foreign city follows its own customs and speaks its own language. Only a boor would ignore both and blame is defaulting on the place. Every day this happens to the artist and the art.
We have to recognize that the language of art, all art, is not our mother-tongue.
- Jeanette Winterson, ‘Art Objects’
Thanks to Patrick for the inspiration, because this quote really did speak to me (and I think it applies to music equally). And thanks to you if you’re still dropping by my blog from time to time. I hope you’ll come back to see the other posts I have got lined up for the next few days.
- Art
- Comments(1)
Still here! *Waves*
The quote is very true! And true to all types of ‘creatives’. As you say, music, sculpture… any type of thing that has a way of being interpreted.
Think about cooking. Or writing. Styles and moods. *Nods* ‘Resonance’ is only deep with the souls that it touches.
Good to see you here. I keep looking out for you. You’re a feed on my home page, and I was very happy to see a new post.
Id be thrilled to see more, but that’s just a selfish thing. You do what you need to do in life. Know you’re thought of, out in the ‘blogosphere’.
MK