Some people explain life following the principle of the binary. The principle of things in twos: 1 & 0, Girl & Boy, Rich and Poor. It is this principle that I see exemplified in this painting that appears to seek a portray of two sides of something; the two sides of life. For me, generally, this is a good piece of art that reemphasizes the aesthetics of art and promotes the serenity of color mixture. Away from the surface, a more critical exploration of the painting reveals a concentration of consciousness that defines intention and defies distraction.
My analysis of this painting would be under the headings of Colors, Characters, and Scene / Setting. One reason I have chosen to restrict my criticism to these few headings, is because I believe that it is possible to substantially interrogate the essence of the painting under the selected headings. Another reason is because I believe that the selected titles can help focus the criticism in the direction that elicits advantages for society, which is the aim of this blog. That is, to promote the freedom of the artist to create and explore without any restriction. Since the review promises to be brief and concise, the headings can help to guard against unnecessary deviation and shifts away from the focus. The criticism would be carried through in a stretch. Even though the discourse would be done under headings, the headings are infused into eachother in a way that makes the entire analysis a single whole and not partitioned.
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What can we title this painting? Do we call it a tree of life or a tree of love? I believe that whatever it is that we choose to title the artwork, would be irrelevant if it is unable to capture a logical argument that can explain the work. Even if the argument is metaphorical. I would not run into the temptation of given the work a title. For this review, that is entirely within the purview of the artist. But in my analysis, I would run a description of the artwork as I attempt to break it down gradually to arrive at an understanding of what the work might mean.
Colors are beauties. They are strong channels through which messages are passed and transmitted to people. Colors say things and they are able to describe situations and events. Colors are able to speak, and this reality has over time encouraged a performance of colors within the theatrical world. In these kind of performances, there are usually a play of colors and somehow the messages intended for the audience are woven into the arrangement, organization and movement of the colors, realized in-performance. The art of Robert Wilson is a good example of this kind of theatre. It is in this light that I see the use of colors in this painting. I see the colors move and dance and talk and say that they are carefully selected sub-characters, interlaced into each other to aid in emphasizing the actions of the two main characters: The boy & The girl. The boy & the girl are both on a swing, moving according to their individual pace, far from each other and yet still close. The tree is the foundation and the source of strength that the boy and the girl cling to. The tree also reveals nature as the ultimate set-designer. This is because it is on this tree that the boy and the girl have chosen to enact their performance of duality. If they both had shared a single swing on the tree, maybe then one could think that the artist intended to portray a somewhat joining together. But in the painting, the girl is on one swing and the boy is on another swing and it is unavoidable to notice a separation between the two of them. What is the artist trying to say? Is there some kind of separation that happens between girls and boys in the society that the artist is trying to call our attention to? The thought that borders on separation is amplified for me by the conscious swap and inversion of colors on both parts of the painting. The top part of the tree, from the branches and leaves upward is divided into two colors. One side of that part of the tree is painted black, while the other part is painted pink. From the branches downwards through the tree trunk to the roots and the ground, is painted black. This favors the side of the tree that is painted in black because the major part of the tree is painted in the same color. Consciously or unconsciously, the part of the tree painted black is the performance space of the girl in this theatre of painting. What is the artist trying to say about the female character? I can hear the girl say that because the artist has decided to give her part of the tree a color that occupies the larger area of the tree, over the color on the boy's side as we can see for ourselves, then she is being favored. Why the girl would think such a thing, is a question that we nosy-folks interested in understanding the intention of these brush strokes must ask. To get our answer we might decide to look at the bigger picture. The entire frame of enactment that constitutes the stage, is capable of giving us more insights into understanding this piece of art. Away from the tree, half of what serves as the background of the painting, the setting of the scene, is painted in a careful combination of colors that range between different shades of pink and color orange. This is the part that has the girl character in it. The other half of the setting where the boy can be seen to swing, is described majorly using the color blue. From left to right: one side could be the representation of dawn while the other depicts dusk, as it basks in its own reflection upon the surface of water. A reflection that has been carried through by the moon.
The performance of this painting lives on into forever, existing in the colors, characters and setting / scene that keeps performing into the future. The painting appears to offer an explanation, through a contradiction. We know that the character of the boy and the girl are at the center of this action, and we know that the scene / setting and colors are only tools that help to amplify their actions. Deconstructively, meaning can be generated from this painting in an unending continuum. And so far, the lessons that I have been taught through the painting are certain and assertive.
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The use of the boy and girl as recognizable characters, and the use of colors, scene / setting, that we can connect to our world, makes the piece of art of sociological importance. What is the use of this art or what can be its use for society? It is the focus of this blog to publish and promote art for the benefit of society, and it is in this line that I am exploring the importance of this painting-performance for the Nigerian society.
The boy & the girl dichotomy that the painting appears to emphasize is not a new phenomenon in the Nigerian society, and in the general world society. Girls are often made to belong to a socially constructed predicament that does not qualify them to benefit like boys. The organization of many societies across the world favor the boy child over the girl child. Is this maybe what the artist is interrogating in this art-performance? If that is the case then the painting would be contributing to the arguments regarding the equality of gender.
All these thoughts are my musings, and perhaps the artist did not mean to make a socially-charged painting. Maybe the artists has simply tried to paint a portrait of love. Of the boy and the girl. But even if that is the case, the painting can still provide a high effect on society. Love is a potent ingredient of the supernatural dish of existence. It can neither be understood too much, nor can it be understood less. Love can only be understood. And this is achieved in the feeling, the genuine feeling that intoxicates a person to take actions that can visibly affect the constitution of life, here on earth. Whether this is, OR isn’t what the artist has tried to say through the painting, I can say no more. At this moment I can only swim in the nerve-relaxing ocean of feelings that this powerful painting elicits.
Painting by: _@Ruthie_
Source: Twitter.com
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