Edvard Munch: Melancholy (1891)
No other artist captured the condition of modern man -- anguish, isolation, and alienation at the intersection of public and private, nature and civilization -- quite like Edvard Munch.A retrospective of Munch's work is currently being exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Slate art critic Lee Siegel has an excellent slide-show essay here. Back in November, Slate's Mia Fineman took another look at Munch's incomparable The Scream here.
It's been all politics all the time here recently, so much engagement with a world that seems to have lost its bearings. Munch's Melancholy, a dazzling work of early expressionism, evokes a far more profound state of being. As a snapshot of the human condition, it's an invitation to contemplate the totality of existence, within and without, amid the deafening din of our current state of affairs.
Disengage. Reflect. Re-engage.
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
1:31 PM
4 Comments:
Melancholy puts it in perspective for me. This current Republican regime is so draining to my spirit that I have to refill my "empty bucket" on a regular basis. The news of the day is like having the spigot at the bottom of the bucket stuck partially open. Occasionally we can "refill" significantly with original art, live music or drama, or from-scratch cuisine. There is something healing and luxurious about hearing the performance once, live. The artist's brush strokes, from eons back sometimes, are life affirming. And my own cooking with care is nurturing in a clanking and clattering world. Thanks for reminding me to take care of myself.
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Carol Gee, at 4:25 PM
Thank you for the nice comment, Carol. I very much share your perspective.
I love expressionism a great deal, and Munch in particular, and when I read Siegel's piece at Slate yesterday I was immediately struck by universal relevance of this painting in particular. And then I looked back over the blogging I've done the past couple of weeks. What's it all about? War, terrorism, bigotry, corruption, scandal, everything from the Cheney shooting to the NSA scandal to the Dubai deal to Iraq. The Republicans drain my spirit, too, but, more so, it all drains my spirit. And we just go on and on, and keep blogging, and keep trying to fight the good fight. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't. We should. And we should do it with all the reason and all the passion we can muster. But sometimes I do think we need to take a step back and to reflect upon what it all means. Not just from a political perspective, but from a human one. What does it all mean?
It's so easy to come to think that what's going on in Washington is simply all-important. But there's so much more. Whether it's art or cooking or friends and family or sports or nature... We can all find fulfillment in different ways.
And that's what I meant when I implied that sometimes it's necessary to disengage somewhat, to take a step back, reflect, and re-focus. Oh sure, I'll get back to the good fight soon enough -- likely this evening. But life is not lived in the blogosphere, nor even in the corridors of power in Washington.
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Michael J.W. Stickings, at 8:14 PM
Thanks, Michael. My plan is for a good day. Hope yours is, too.
By
Carol Gee, at 9:13 AM
^^ nice blog!! ^@^
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