I find that many people are hesitant to talk about art.
From my point of view, it is a two-step process:
1 a) The picture doesn’t appeal to me – then there’s not much to say.
1 b) The picture speaks to me – then a constructive conversation about the work begins.
2) Since the work of art makes me vibrate and touches me, I can speak freely about what I feel and think about it. There is no right and wrong.
Everyone talks about what the work triggers in themselves. Each person has their own authority.
The idea of expressing something valid about the being of the work itself is an illusion.
I can merge with the being of the work through my being, but everything that can be experienced there remains non-linguistic.
This circumstance may be the source of the initial hesitation that art triggers in us.
I experience something that is inexpressible.
If I am aware that I can react to being touched by the work with my own expression, I am free and able to express myself.
Communication between several viewers gains a constructive dynamic when all participants allow themselves to be moved by the self-expression of the other. This results in complex, discursive co-creations on the basic vibration of the work.
Fun fact: After the act of creation, I experience myself as an artist looking at my works again. Like a father who looks at the developing lives of his children as they step out into the world.
With regard to the painting “Bloody Moss”, I was asked by a viewer whether it would bother me if she saw rose petals in the red spots of color.
Another viewer got stuck on two titles: “Death Whispers” and “Bloody Moss”. He said: “You’ve got a lot going on.”
When I look at the picture named by both of them, I sense strong healing energy and the red moss is evidence of successful wound care.
From these three positions, with a little openness, it is easy to develop an interwoven dialog between these points of view.
Talking about art can give creative self-expression to the inexpressible feeling of being touched.