Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The joy of colour
















I was somehow reminded of Patsy's words in defence of Eddy when Saffy reproached her for STILL not having done anything about the kitchen: "Maybe this is it... What is the difference between someone who chooses to paint like a child and a child's painting?" (Patsy of course had been the cause of the kitchen's chaotic state because she had burned it down by falling asleep - or more likely, passing out - with a burning cigarette in hand). 

In all seriousness, I don't know much about art, but this painting really made me think that if it had been painted by a grown-up artist with an intentionally chosen naivistic style, the work might well be much praised and in some good gallery somewhere. This is one of a large series of paintings decorating the pedestrian underpass by the Kulosaari metro station, painted by the pupils of the local elementary school. There was plenty that I liked but this one in particular struck me due to it's bright, bold use of colour and the wonderful sense of unreal that is there in the depicted scenery. It is as if the mountains (?) at the front could in fact be fire mountains or trees, whose flames JUST fail to reach the lone house at the edge of a strange desert land where the sun never changes colour or goes down and the sky always has the same bright blue tone.

Just thoughts and feelings created by my own imagination and associations of mind of course. What does the picture make you think?

2 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

I think of trees in the fall when I see it.

I have to say, as someone with a few friends who either are painters or are married to them, I used to make them crazy if I compared contemporary art to something "a child could do." When I took a tour at the National Gallery in Ottawa with a class during a trip and chose the modern art section, I never had those thoughts again. The tour guides were quite deliberate about the intentions of the artists and I actually realised there was much more than ever meets the eye.

Vallypee said...

Aha, Maria, it reminds me of Finland itself! Everything being brown and golden as it was when I saw it ;-) I love children's art. I think it is every bit as serious as adult art. Kids really express themselves with immense intention and focus. Lovely picture indeed.