You create the paintings you see: Magritte edition

You are just like the resplendent fire that lies provokingly outside the painting depicted in this ingenuous painting: you influence and drastically change what appears in any work of art. But doesn’t this sound paradoxical, that an outside person, completely unrelated to a painting, could possibly change the already existing, physical content of it?

Ah, but that’s precisely what cunning Rene Magritte tried to tell us through his whole ouvre, that art is not in the least concerned with what a work means by itself alone, but with what that content means to you. Even if we physically look at the same object, we all perceive it through the countless veils of our personal experiences. Hence, fortunately, no two people see the same painting, but rather they paint a meaning in their own minds, inspired by what they are facing.

“So…What do YOU think of this painting?”, he’d wittily ask with a broad smile on his face, expecting nothing of what he himself had made of it. And indeed, nothing could please him more than hearing as many interpretations of an image as the amount of people who gave their opinion. And isn’t that the beauty of it? Searching with your own mind for an explanation, enjoying it for what it means to you alone, rather than receiving a given, universal (not) explanation?

Hence I came up with the idea of organizing what I like to call the “You create the paintings you see” project, starting with the Magritte edition. The concept implies you sending me your opinion of one or even all of the paintings that I shall present in a minute, so that we could build a palette of interpretations and see each of Rene’s works through the eyes of the others.

I carefully selected these paintings, since I did not want them to be either too famous or too obscure. Now you don’t have to skillfully craft a lengthy argument, just follow your instincts. Tell us what emotions they bring forth in you, and why do you think that is. We do not want to know what Magritte might have made of them, we want to know your impression of them.

 And, to spice things up, try to see how upon discovering the titles your opinion might change. I shall attach them at the end, so you won’t be biased towards any given interpretation.

Here we go:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

You can send the interpretation to psycharma@yahoo.com along with a specification of whether you wish your name, website or blog to be attached to your opinion when the post will be completed. It is not necessary for you to have a wordpress.com account, everybody is welcome to share their opinions. ENDED.

The names of the paintings:

1. Attempting the impossible (1928)

2.Philosophy of the boudoir (19470

3.The memoirs of a saint (1960)

4.Landscape (1926)

5. The spirit of comedy (1928)