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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GaleriaGila, post: 124175, member: 993&quot;]Pair #8... here we go...</p><p><br /></p><p>Painting A.&nbsp; A rather dubious Utopia... stark, but lofty, offering a passage that suggests a big transition, probably a positive one.&nbsp; A lone walker is making his/her way with apparent purposefulness, following a wide, clear path across traversing shifting/vague/confusing territory.&nbsp; Bright, primary colors, giving a sense of hope, but not pinning down the nature of the hope, allowing viewers to project their own journeys/hopes/needs onto the canvas.&nbsp; Murky edges to the horizon avoid giving us a too-predictable or sophomoric Utopia, though, so there&#039;s room to easy or instant Heaven here.&nbsp; I feel that there&#039;s really nothing to dislike here.&nbsp; Nice panorama.&nbsp; I could spend some time enjoying it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Painting B.&nbsp; Well... &quot;Utopia&quot; has been hung out to dry.&nbsp; The sky is verdant, but nothing else is!&nbsp; Spider web (and no spider)... those hanging things make me think of dried meats or jerky... the mutant skull (what is that thing? A saber-tooth duck?) on the post... a few other odd objects... and stalagtites, stalagmites?&nbsp; Overall, the content is stark, BUT... there&#039;s a certain vibrancy, or life to the scene, for me.&nbsp; Compositions like this are tricky... a little too much &quot;drama&quot; and they can be sophomoric... like the over-the-top stuff I used to enjoy painting in order to horrify or confound people.&nbsp; But this painting stops short of that.&nbsp; It has a message, for me, of loss, and caution, but also, of simplification and reflection.&nbsp; ALMOST an Existential place.</p><p><br /></p><p>Compare and Contrast of the two?</p><p>I think they go well together.&nbsp; A dubious Heaven and a dubious Hell.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think one overwhelms or fights with the other.</p><p>As some of you may know, I have a very minimalist idea of décor.&nbsp;&nbsp; One focal point per room, roughly. And I don&#039;t need any more.&nbsp; I wouldn&#039;t buy either for myself. SO... in order to &quot;play&quot; our game more fully, I like to imagine...&nbsp; for whom I WOULD buy a painting, or to whom I might show the painting(s), to see if THEY might like to purchase them, or receive as gifts, whatever.</p><p>In this case, I&#039;d show the pair to a friend of mine who&#039;s still living out west, and who is a very devout Catholic BUT also an activist as far as questioning doctrines about birth control, LGBT Catholics, handling of sexual abuse by clergy... See where I&#039;m going with this?&nbsp; I believe she&#039;d appreciate the complementary yet polar energy and tension these two pieces provide.</p><p>Man, I know I&#039;m wordy but... this thread is a rapture for me... somebody is actually asking what I think about art!!!! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie51" alt=":hilarious:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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