Want To Have A Little Fun Interpreting This Painting?

Question

I have no idea what it means. I'm just the dumb artist who painted it when I was drunk yesterday.

Seriously, I'm curious as to how you see it?

http://pics.livejournal.com/unmired/pic/0002akdc/g16

(And I wasn't drunk.)

Answer 1

The painting seems already loaded, if I may say so. I think a glass of red wine is in order.

There are set boundaries from which motion and "spirits" are captured that transmogrify or absolve into another form. The structured into the "shapeless". There is momentum that builds up, yet only to come contrively formed towards the centre of the piece. I am not too comfortable with that. White on Black works fine, but I just do not know if the seemingly very literal expression of structure on the right in dichotomy with the "formless" on the left could be better expressed. Nevertheless, I like the passage of time in motion (how I read it) , save the centre portion. When's your crit ?

Answer 2

It looks like a cross section of some body part--perhaps a digestive tract, a section of bone, a brain or even a womb. The spots and squares seem to reference cells (you can see the nuclei--those little black spots) or food particles passing through the system. The overall outline itself looks to me something like the bust of a bird-like animal, tipped over towards the left side.

A figurative abstraction.

As a general interpretation or theme, I think along the lines of "internal processing" and "medical illustration".

To continue the series, you might try creating similar large shapes that resemble other bodily cross sections, but with different weirdly shaped particles and objects passing through them. These evolving objects passing through your systems could potentially be quite interesting.

If you wanted to give color a shot, you could experiment with using pale colors, flesh tones or neutrals for the blobby shapes; juxtaposed with differently hued mono-colored particles--possibly using more highly saturated or shocking colors for the particles. Color could really add more levels of ambiguity and interpretation.

Color-wise, if this idea of bodily functions or medical cross sections interests you, you could perhaps think about emulating or suggesting traditional medical illustration with pale/neutral tones against a white canvas background.

This could be pushing it too far, but maybe there could be small index cards, accompanying each painting, that have really short stories describing the rite of passage that these little character/particles experience. Just a random thought; don't know if it could be pulled off easily, and I probably wouldn't want to see them displayed alongside the paintings. Writing them out could give you ideas for the paintings however, and could be a useful exercise for generating a visual language for the series.

Answer 3

Truthfully -- Honestly -- the second I saw it the only word that came to mind was "Ejaculation." This isn't meant as a compliment or an insult. But you asked what it says to me; and that's it.

Answer 4

well when you do things intoxicated it rarely has a meaning but spure of the moment thing.Which shows impulse so dnt take what you do when yr drunk to heart.

Answer 5

You are hiding out in a womb.....slightly fearful, well maybe not fearful, but unsure of what the the outside world will deal you, so it's safer to stay in that womb.