The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Thursday, October 9, 2014

In the Eye of the Beholder


          Up until I was twenty-something, I thought only the classical stuff was truly art--Van Gogh, Rodin, Monet and so on. I squinted my eyes and turned my nose up at modern art--art I did not understand.

(Oh! How I wish the days of Rodin were back with us. How well I would fit in!)

        But (years ago) when I took a class about teaching art (as I studied to become a teacher), everything changed. After looking at a painting that had some blue, red and yellow rectangles and squares scattered across the white canvas (which I scoffed at), we were given the same shapes and instructed to create a "painting." Thinking it could be done in an instant, it surprised me how long it took for me to arrange them in a way that satisfied me... how many times I arranged and rearranged the pieces.

(The purpose of the class was to prepare me if I ever had to teach every subject--including art. I also had to take a "teaching music" class and thankfully--for everyone's ears' sake--I have never had to teach a music class. Sioux and singing do not go together harmoniously.)

        Since then, I've done some activities at our local art museum that have totally made me rethink what art is exactly. When you look at a piece of art in a unique way or with a closer lens, it's transforming...  

        I'm a bit snooty when it comes to books and writing as well. There are genres I steer clear of (like romance) and yet, when Lisa Ricard Claro's romance books hit the bookstores, I will be in line to read them. Will her writing transform me into a rabid romance fan? Probably not, but the novels most likely will make me a more frothing-at-the-mouth Lisa Ricard Claro fan.

        On Saturday, I'm going to a writing marathon at Laumeier Sculpture Park. I trust that the art will be inspiring (or at least encouraging). On Monday I'll share some photos, along with (hopefully) a limerick or two. You see, one of my favorite activities--when getting together with writers over lunch or dinner--is writing round-robin limericks. Each person gets a paper beverage napkin, they write a first line to a limerick and then everyone passes to the right (or the left--if you're the facilitator, be self-centered and eye the table up, making your decision carefully, based on whose line you'd most like to get). Each napkin gets passed four times  and then when all the limericks are finished, they're read aloud. 

        Here are a few photos from the park:








        Do you turn your nose up at certain types of art or certain genres of books? Do you have a limerick you'd like to share? Do you have to eat your words often, like I do?  

11 comments:

  1. I try and just say "I don't understand it" but in my heart I think a lot of it is crap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joeh--There are still some pieces that make me wonder...

      Delete
  2. I don't understand a lot of modern art, either, and I secretly suspect that emperor often has no clothes on. Then again, I am horrible at composition, and I do sometimes have to eat words.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tammy--There are lots of times that I'm clueless...

      Delete
  3. My tastes are eclectic. I know this writer gal who does beautiful blown glass :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda-- I KNOW your tastes are eclectic. I've met Bill.

      Delete
  4. Huh. Something wasn't put together right, and it collapsed. The knight lost his arms. The pirate ship set sail for Lowe's.

    I'm not so good with art, but I can write a mean limerick when I have time to let my creativity flow. Not necessarily a socially acceptable limerick...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val--I didn't know there WERE any socially acceptable limericks...Hmmmm.

      Delete
  5. Wow. Thanks, Sioux! I was off-line pretty much all weekend so I didn't see your post, but what a lovely way to begin the day. You made my whole week and it's not even noon on Monday yet. :)

    There aren't too many things I turn my nose up at without first taking a "no-thank-you bite." (My kids heard that phrase all the time growing up: "Just take a no-thank-you bite. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it/read it/watch it.") I'm not partial to abstract art, though some of it is really cool. Some stuff, like the first sculpture you posted, looks like a plateful of spaghetti to me, so as much as I like pasta, I wouldn't want it in my front yard. I'm more of a Monet's Water Lilies kind of girl. But with art, sometimes something just hits me---I have a painting over my bed of a naked woman holding the sheets/blankets up to cover herself. The view is from the back---back of her head, shoulders, upper back. No boobs, no butt, etc. Just from the waist up. The colors are vibrant and I love, love, LOVE that painting. I never get tired of it. I love that the woman might be happy, sad, excited, angry, whatever---who knows? You can't see her face. What her emotion is depends on my own when I look at the painting and which colors strike me the most in that moment. It isn't everyone's cup of tea (my husband humors me) but I love the dang thing.

    And now a limerick:

    There is a great writer named Sioux
    Whose talent is sure, strong, and true.
    She writes like pro,
    Through if drinking Bordeaux,
    Her humor is sometimes taboo. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa--Your husband doesn't like having two naked women in your bedroom? Hmmm.

      So, you can write romance novels and creative nonfiction and flash fiction AND limericks? Is there anything you can't write? ;)

      Delete
    2. Hey again! Hubby would've been just as happy with a neon Budweiser bar sign over the bed. lol When it comes to decorating he runs for cover. I actually have a funny story about the painting which will make a cute blog post---so thanks for inspiring me! :)

      As to what I can write---well, I suck,really suck, at real poetry. I've taken poetry workshops and I still put out awful stuff. My poetry isn't honest enough, comes off too---I dunno, too something. I think I try too hard. I'm so envious of people--like Shay/Fireblossom--who write way cool stuff, work that makes me feel something just from the word choices and flow. (Even when I might have no idea whatsoever what the poem really means. lol) I wrote a lot of poetry in high school (existential and angsty and horrible) and do sometimes jot poems down just for myself, but nothing I'd ever dare to share. Yes, it's really that awful.

      Delete

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by...