“I will provoke you”… “I will travel you “… “I’ll haunt you” … “I’ll be your mirror” … tells the artwork; the question is to what do we respond.
It is so that each life period picks its elements of seduction; as life evolves what we are able to see in an artwork ping-pongs between moods, thoughts and convictions. What if, though, in the end this phrase would summarize it all: “I’ll be your mirror”; I almost can not pronounce it without singing it, but the artwork does too, doesn’t it? As time passes and provided we do our homework on leaving aside as many habits as possible – in order to see our naked self, yes that’s it – the artwork as alive as we are will change as well. A painting is not a still image; it goes along with us; awakens a cell today and another the next day, or shuts it all off in a sharp annihilation; until we are ready to stand in front of it again.
Nevertheless, art does not comply to the linear approach of life; what it reflects is our present self relieved from time. Here comes along too the distinction between timeless works and statement-works; the latter becoming obsolete outside the social context and the relevant description (a story to be told apart).
The artwork as mirror is the materialization of the most intimate relation we can have; meaning, to ourself. Standing in front of the art-mirror is something to do; but would you?
P.S.1 Cannot avoid thinking that a big amount of the art production nowadays asks the viewer to get used to it, where this “it” is more an illustration of an idea than an autonomous work of art. If you wonder what is the difference between the two, search in the 19th century and the first plans for a conceptual museum. I will expand on this in a future article.
P.S.2 painting is always abstract, just like music
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