Acrylic on canvas

Who knew we could find so much beautiful art at a community college; that often rests unnoticed in a conundrum of hallway navigation? Every day without realizing I pass paintings and sculptures, and this time I stumbled on a hidden gem: an intriguing painting on relatively large canvas, all twisted and bent, yet clearly presenting a vision of the unnamed artist. 

Formal analysis. The painting at first seems straight forward: a canopy-like forest, birds, snakes, a turtle. The shapes and blueish colors are perfect, almost too technical. It’s another photoshopped picture out there that sells good. Or is it? Next to the painting a small note said acrylic on canvas. Acrylic sounds too fake, almost as an food additive. And the fluorescent yellow light placed right above this painting only influents our thoughts with wrong or correct assumptions. 

Stylistic analysis. If we let ourselves to immerse into any art we can discover many subtleties. After gazing into this painting I started realizing it doesn’t represent some random forest but more like an amazon. Furthermore, while observing it for more then five minutes,and  approaching it very closely at one point, I have also realized the nuances of yellowish and brownish colors, giving it that warm, earthy, homie, almost cozy feeling. Thin branches falling free and relaxing tell us they’ve been undisturbed for many years. The other wild plants unseen in today’s wilderness give us an illusion the time in the painting might be in jurassic, or some other prehistoric era.

Contextual analysis. However, the two stork-like birds did seem too modern too suggest any other age than the present one, the 21st century. A medium size snake as well as two smaller ones rested on a small rock. A turtle poked its head and stretched its neck inspired with curiosity of its surroundings, or maybe to get some sun that hardly peeks through a very dense net of trees and flora. The animals didn’t seem to feel any threat to each other. I got a sense of primary tranquility, as in heaven - a land of eternal peace. Did the artist have any other agendas? Stork birds known in fairy tales how they bring babies might represent a new life, a birth, a light. Black snakes, usually seen as evil, now finally live in harmony with others. A turtle, a mysterious creature that usually avoids the rest of the world, has at last decided to take the stage, reveal itself, and make some new friends? Soft, calming, blueish colors gave me a sense of trust. Why the artist made this painting? Maybe in an attempt to escape our world of so many conflicts and lies; whether a war, or simply a disagreement on issues like animal rights and human rights: and rescue us into a romantic oasis. If that’s the case then the message of this art transcends the time.

Just like a poem, a painting can be interpreted in many ways. A big part of our perception depends on our mood at the time of observing the art. A light that falls on it can make an entirely different experience and impression on an observer. 

What is a destiny of this fine art, hanged on a yellow wall in a very busy hallway overseen by college students? Will it be rediscovered in a hundred years in a museum, or will it eventually end up in trash, replaced with something new and/or cool? I fear the latter. We can always hope.