Tuesday, May 1, 2007

The Artist's Paradox



The master
artist
stands there.
Paintbrush in hand.
Dabbing color.
Smoothing lines.
Bringing life to a
blank canvas.

Take a step back.
Look at our
artist.
Straggly hair
half hidden
by a tilted
beret.
Paint spattered
smock.
Standing in a
sparse room
with naught but a
wobbly table
a glass of water
a bar stool
a slice of bread
and his pallette
and easel.

The finished
masterpiece
now devoid of the
artist
hangs
gilt edged and framed
above the
mantelpiece.
Below,
a fire crackles.
soft, dim lights
ensconce the painting
casting shadows
revealing depth.
Smooth velvet drapings
and shiny polished marble
surround the
masterpiece
and elevate it
to glory.

The maker.
The presenter.
Two different
worlds.

One creates the
beauty.
The other
uses it.

The creator of
beauty
seems barren without
yet rich within.

And the receiver?
He's beautiful without,
yet inside...

What a paradox!

5 comments:

David_on_the_Lake said...

What a paradox indeed!

every person needs something that drives and propels him/her forward in life..
For some its the contentness and excitement of creativity..for others it's the thought of another luxury acquired.

socialworker/frustrated mom said...

Beautiful sorry I don't have long sophisticated comments but it is just beautiful.

David Melamed said...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Care to make sense of that?

Bas~Melech said...

My theory on this is that the artist seeks and finds beauty in everything; he has no need to surround himself with aesthetics because life itself is a thing of beauty. Instead, he expresses this in his works, allowing his inner self to overflow.

In contrast, those who have lost touch with their inner selves, usually having rejected it or chased in the opposite direction without realizing what they were giving up, Those people have forgotten where their true beauty lies and so they seek it everywhere else -- in luxuries, aesthetics, and the closest they can get is proximity to the creations of the true artist.

the dreamer said...

david - the question is - which do you choose to be like?

swfm - short and sweet is fine, too.
:)

mel - make sense of what?

basmelech - i like! thanks for that interpretation...