RETRO; SIZZLES

I decided to watch "Girl With A Pearl Earring" today and as soon as the movie ended, I went over to my computer to do some research on Johannes Vermeer and his masterpiece. I learned that this painting of Vermeer raises some questions of it's own as well, much similar to the Mona Lisa, which we have taken up in class. I read that very little is actually know about Vermeer. There are no confirmed images of the artist and there are only 35 of his paintings known to exist. This was because he only painted about two or three a year.

Moving on, after watching the movie, I felt a sense of longing inside, as if I really HAD to learn more about this painting of Vermeer's since the movie of course, is fictional. It was from a book by Tracy Chevalier.

It was interesting how the author, Tracy Chevalier came up with the idea of writing a book inspired by the painting of Vermeer. I suppose not so many attempt to answer the mysteries of the universe through such means. Technology does not have all the answers to life's questions after all.

I think the author did a pretty good job with the novel. I haven't read it yet, but she was able to make the painting more real and meaningful to hundreds of other people; myself included. Before seeing the movie, I knew nothing about this painting of Vermeer. Just the fact that it was a painting.

But after seeing the movie, I was moved. Moved enough to do my own research, to really delve deep into the mysteries surrounding it as well as the painter.

This got me thinking: maybe life's mysteries are better left unsolved. In this way, we can make up our own answers, answers that hold more meaning for us, that have more significance. I know it sounds silly, but maybe the real story behind the painting is dull and void of any emotion. The artist may have just decided to paint one day and so, was able to come with a beautiful painting. I'm not saying the painting is dull and void of all emotion, but the story is different from the painting itself and the painting is beautiful.

Let's say the story behind it is dull. Quite frankly, I would rather not have the real answers to the questions of this painting. I would rather have a thousand wonderful theories that propose all sorts of answers from the crazy to just plain unreal. I think that painting is given more life that way.

Just like the Mona Lisa, it really is the mysteries that make Vermeer's 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' the masterpiece that it is today.

Sources:
http://www.tchevalier.com/gwape/vermeer/index.html
http://girl-with-a-pearl-earring.20m.com/
http://homepages.tesco.net/ian.cox99/Vermeer%20-%20Girl%20with%20a%20Pearl%20Earring%20(1665).jpg

1:05 PM

Yellow Submarine and Guitars

"We all live in a Yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine..."

I have been a Beatles fan for a very long time. This week, my friend found a DVD of the film "Yellow Submarine" and so she decided to lend it to me. I can't even begin to describe how cool the movie is. The visual art is amazing, the drawings, the pictures, they all come alive almost magically. What was even better was the fact that I was able to sing along to almost every song. I had fun watching the movie even by myself.

During class, we discussed vision, visual arts and optical illusions. According to John Berger "The way we see things is affected by what we know and what we believe." I was reminded of this quote while watching the movie.

In the scene, the Beatles are coming together to help Young Fred (who is from Pepperland) after being terrorized by the "Blue Meanies" who are actually haters of music.

In this scene, George is driving a car that is red with yellow wheels. Ringo insists actually belongs to him. George goes, "What makes you say it's your car?" and Ringo replies; "Because my car is red with yellow wheels."
The car leaves the scene and comes back with a different color scheme, blue with orange wheels. Then George goes: "It's all in the mind."

And it's true, the way see things is indeed affected by what we know and believe. Our perception changes our view of what we see.

I remember talking to a friend about guitars. You must understand that this friend of mine has no interest whatsoever, in guitars. Apparently, it is a big part me and I could go on all week talking about it. I brought over a catalog from Fender, makers of awesome electric guitars. My enthusiasm started rolling as soon as I opened the first page. When I was done getting all technical, she just looked at me and laughed. Then she said: "I don't know anything about those but I can listen.."

Guitars just did not hold meaning for her at all. And it was alright, because I understand that she saw guitars as guitars, and nothing more because it's not part of her interests and she knows almost nothing about them.

On the other hand, I brought the very same catalog to a fellow guitar-lover and I showed him my "dream guitar". Soon, we found ourselves ecstatic about the simple catalog. He even asked if he could borrow it and return it the following week.

The catalog held much meaning for him because like me, he had the knowledge about the instrument. Enough knowledge to make him see the value in that catalog.

Source:
http://www.beatles.com/hub/gfx/albums/front/YS-A.jpg

12:42 AM

It’s amazing how a single painting can provoke so much thought, gather so much attention and invoke so much analysis. This got me wondering about what Leonardo da Vinci must have been thinking when he painted the Mona Lisa.

Did he know that this painting of his would become world-famous, causing many to be captivated by the very smile which he himself painted?
Did he know that centuries after, his works would become recognized?
Was he aware that future generations would look up to him and patronize his works?

I find it funny thinking that maybe he did not even know he was destined for greatness. For all we know, he probably just had a passion for art and wanted to make a decent living out of it.
In this day and age, many years after his death, nobody seems to not know Leonardo da Vinci. His fame has spanned many generations and time seems to have made his paintings more famous because of the mysteries that hide behind them.

What is it with mysteries anyway? What makes the Mona Lisa a masterpiece?

…the questions. I think I heard someone answer that.

I was struck when these questions were asked in class. Sometimes, I think that if all my questions about life were answered, things would be better for me. Life would be less complicated too. But would I really want to sacrifice life’s beauty for some answers to my own questions?

It got me thinking…

I guess life really does become more beautiful with all the questions thrown in. Just like how if everyone became immortal, life itself, would lose its meaning. People wouldn’t struggle day by day to live life to its fullest. I’ve never welcomed the concept of so many questions in my life; but the discussion about the Mona Lisa has helped me change a few of my notions. Questions do bring beauty to life and it’s not really about having those questions answered, it’s just about letting those questions make life more meaningful for me.
Mysteries, in my opinion, have the ability to make people want to discover more. In the same way, I think that life, along with its questions, makes people search for deeper meaning in their own lives as well.

Source of picture: http://manuel.cerezo.name/archives/Mona_Lisa[1].jpg

6:23 PM