I got some coffee creamer
yesterday, so I put the green tea away and switched back to coffee today. By the
way, I love coffee but I don’t necessarily consider myself a coffee snob. Sometimes
I buy really expensive coffee online, sometimes I pick up a bag of beans at Starbucks,
and sometimes I grab stuff from the sale bin at Target. Today’s selection was
one of those sale bin specialties – Target Brand White Chocolate Strawberry
Coffee. If you’re wondering how the heck Target flavored their coffee like
white chocolate strawberries, you would be justified in doing so. Let’s just
say it smells delicious while brewing and tastes like chemicals when you
actually drink it. Thank goodness I had a fresh supply of creamer to take the
edge off a bit.
So today while drinking coffee
creamer with a bit of coffee, I continued reading some about Post
Impressionism. I browsed through some information on Paul Cézanne and Georges
Seurat, but today’s real find came when I read a biography page on Paul Gaugin
(find it here: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gaug/hd_gaug.htm).
I have to admit today’s blog strays a
little bit away from a review of the actual art and into gossip tabloid-esque
territory… but I really can’t help it when I read things like “Descended on his
mother's side from Peruvian nobility, [Gaugin] spent his early childhood in
Lima. He would later misrepresent his ancestry to portray himself as an Incan
savage” and “Gauguin encouraged van Gogh to paint as he himself did, from
memory and imagination… rather than from motifs in nature. Their collaboration
ended abruptly when van Gogh had a mental breakdown and cut off part of his
left ear.” Seriously, is it a requirement that you have to be a little crazy to
be creative? I mean, we have here a fake Incan savage and someone who cut off
his ear. There’s a lot more interesting information in the biography- I
encourage you to give this one a read. I can only imagine the US Weekly covers
if these artists were alive and famous today. Is it necessary to be a little
crazy to create this level of art, and, if so, is it worth it for humanity?
Sure, we have some awesome art thanks to these guys, but maybe they would have
personally been better off in a bit more stable of a career? I’m not sure there
is a good answer to that question. You have to take care of yourself, but you
also have to follow your passion, I think.
Gaguin poured a lot into his art.
He started out as an Impressionist, but eventually moved past this and set the
stage for Fauvism and Expressionism (which I definitely need to study some as I
continue my art journey). He spent time living in Tahiti, which influenced his painting. His masterpiece was
painted while he was there, and is entitled Where
Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (pictured below). It’s an
allegorical painting known as a culmination of his art. I’m not sure how I feel
about, except to say that the title itself definitely shows Gaguin had a
troubled, searching heart. The painting seems busy and tense to me. I like the
colors, but that is about it. Something about it moves you, though. Perhaps it
is knowing that Gaguin was troubled. Although I’m not sure I understand the
technical merit of the painting, seeing the title and feeling the haunting
emotion behind the painting makes it hard for me to just dismiss it outright. Is
emotion the most important aspect to art?
I’m not quite sure how to answer
that question.
Xoxo, Diana
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