In which the author compares the aesthetic reverberations of two of her favorite works of art: One a contemporary Italian film, the other a century-old American painting.
There are some works of art and films that I have seen and that I will never forget.
Kaos (1984) is a beautiful film that contains 4 stories that take place in 19th-century Sicily. I have not seen this film since it was released 24 years ago. What I remember about the film is a feeling of complete awe and total satisfaction upon viewing this film. I cannot tell you the plot, or name any of the main characters, but all these years later I still count this as one of my Top Five favorite films of all time. Since this is a Taviani Brothers movie, we can only assume it is visually rich. I also recall a theme of fairy tales with an overlying layer of pure love. Perhaps my memory has made up that last part.
The Sorrowing Soul Between Faith and Doubt is an old friend of mine. Painted by the American painter Elihu Vedder in 1884, this painting features a sad, beautiful woman sandwiched between a brooding male meant to represent doubt, and the glowing angel of faith whose golden halo seems to illuminate the scene. Vedder himself knew the success of this painting as there are at least two versions: one at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the other at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in New York. I have looked at this painting often and even made a copy of it in art school with me as the central Sorrowing Soul between Paul Gauguin (doubt) and Allen Ginsburg (faith). Are we not, as humans, always lingering between faith and doubt?
The memories of these two works of art give me a foundation and standard to look at other works of art. The memories of these works enrich my history and inform my future as an artist and human. These visual experiences also confirm the human continuum. It is this dialogue with art and the relationship that you can build with it that is not only life-enriching but totally necessary for full human living. Now get off your bum and go to a museum!
You can view the Sorrowing Soul
