Watched "The Mona Lisa curse", a documentary by Robert Hughes, 2008.
"If Art can't tell us about the world we live in, then I don't believe there is much point in having it. And that is something we are going to have to face more & more as the years go on, that nasty question which never used to be asked because the assumption was always it was answered long ago:
What good is Art? What use is Art? What does it do? Is what it does actually worth doing? And an art which is completly moneterized in the way that it is getting these days is going to have to answer these questions or it is going to die."
Third visit to the MMFA, with EA:
Paul-Emile Borduas, "Composition No. 11", 1957, had titled slightly, two or three degrees up to the right.
Spent about 30 minutes in front of Tom Thompson, "Northern Lights", about 1916-17, oil on board.
(I sit about 6 or 7 meters away from the painting for the duration of my visit)
Q?: How do people approach such an iconic painting?
A: With crossed arms & general confusion.
(A man in his 50's yawns in front of the painting, covering his open mouth with the back of his hand.)
Does the small size of the painting limit or restrict a viewers ability to enter into it deeply?
What is the key to access this painting?
What is the key, to me?
(The fresh snow from Fridays' snow storm still blankets the skylights, making igloo light inside the room.)
Mandarin Stumblebum, for Philip Guston, 2012.
