I had a theory the other day. Shall I start by telling a story? I think I shall.
My sister plays in a youth orchestra. The orchestra rehearses in a rather large, very old Presbyterian church. The fellowship hall, where rehearsals are held, hosts art shows on a regular basis. The walls are always hung with artwork which seems to change at random intervals. (I haven't sorted out their schedule yet.
) It's all contemporary and local artists, usually, so the styles are new and vastly different. And sometimes it's very... avante-garde. My dad has never been a fan of modern art. Most of you have probably heard jokes about blobs of paint thrown at a canvas and called artwork being comparable to finger painting by a three-year-old. Well, last week I was standing in rehearsal staring at a huge, 12' oil painting that was simply red, yellow and orange blobs, and I was struck with a sudden thought. It's an essence.
Hanging on another wall were two pieces that were a set, called "Blue in my head." they looked like sort of cloudy blue and purple swirls, but they made a bit more sense then the giant red one. What jumped into my head was the graphics Jay has made of essences.
Does it make sense? No. Would I call it a masterpiece of artwork? No. See, the problem with modern art is that is mislabeled. It's essence. It's the artist trying to capture a mood or a feeling and put it in a visual format, the way advanced essence maps do.
And thus I managed to explain essence and modern art in a satisfactory way to myself in one fell swoop. Thoughts?
