What does art say about the artist? If a piece is popular enough, people may disassociate the art from the artist. Admirers of Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of Lisa Gherardini are described in the Ekphrastic Writer. A passage states, “All the people crowd around her like paparazzi and flash, flash, flash themselves posed near her. They know nothing about her, her plight in life and death, know nothing of him – yet here they gather.” (Baugher). When it comes to a piece as beloved as the Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, commonly referred to as the Mona Lisa, the regular museum-goer tends to focus on taking the perfect selfie with the art piece rather than the artist's intentions and its meaning.
When it comes to "average artwork", how does art imprint the character of the artist? When we interpret meanings for art, we are simultaneously judging the artist's character. Therefore, the art's pathos and ethos appeal have a partnership. If a painting makes me feel or think a certain way I automatically assign the feelings I have to the artist's mindset. In Everything's an Argument it says, “Ethos creates quick and sometimes irresistible connections between readers and arguments” (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz). The same goes for art. When I find the artist trustworthy because of my interpreted message, a more profound connection forms between me and the art, most notably, between myself and the artist.
When searching for art pieces for my ekphrastic writing, I am captivated by art that asserts its presence by appealing to my emotions and simultaneously asserting the artist's character. Now that I am more aware of this tendency, I want to challenge myself by writing about art pieces that fail to bombard me with emotion and respect for the artist.
Works Cited
Baugher, Jenée. The Ekphrastic Writer: Creating Art-Influenced Poetry, Fiction and Nonfiction, ebook, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2020.
Lunsford, Andre, and John Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an Argument. Eight Edition, ebook, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019.
No comments:
Post a Comment