René Magritte, La Condition Humaine, 1935.
1 2021-12-03T06:28:43+00:00 Aaron Wank e90b62de70330a2e9453467cd0a390a3ddac344d 171 1 René Magritte, La Condition Humaine, 1935. plain 2021-12-03T06:28:43+00:00 Aaron Wank e90b62de70330a2e9453467cd0a390a3ddac344dThis page is referenced by:
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2021-11-24T17:41:54+00:00
Escaping The Modern Cave
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by Aaron Wank
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2021-12-16T18:01:39+00:00
by Aaron Wank
As we have studied in class, modern artists have consistently attempted to break free from the confines of “traditional” artistic ideology in order to show an aspect of the world not commonly seen in art. Expressionist painters chose to depict modern life around them, specifically focusing on that which is typically kept out of sight and mind. However, as the 19th and 20th centuries went forward, artists continued to come up with new ways to depict the world around them, expressing that most art prior, although revolutionary, seemed to have missed the mark in showing modern life. For example, abstraction flourished in order to demonstrate the unseen internalized mindset. Later, Fluxus art, as well as “happenings”, took art one step further, allowing the viewer to interact with the world around them in new ways. This idea of finally being able to “see” reality around you is very indicative of Plato’s allegory of The Cave which holds the idea of needing to break free from the chains of society in order to look beyond the shadows on the cave wall and witness the world first hand. Scott Lenaway’s The Movie, 2012, truly demonstrates a modern telling of this allegory. As the subjects stare at the screen, they are unaware of the barbed fence around them. With this project, I wish to explore Plato’s allegory of The Cave and how modern artists have attempted to break free from their chains. Are these artists truly “free” and able to put the past behind them in order to see the world for what it is? Or is it even possible to escape and are we forever trapped within the illusions on the wall our society has created for us?
Scott Lenaway, The Movie, 2012.
Being deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2009, Scott Lenaway truly learned what it meant to feel imprisoned by war. In his piece, The Movie, 2012, Lenaway utilizes printmaking as well as water painting to illustrate a small group of individuals gazing up upon a projected screen while surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. The subjects are off in the corner, shrouded by darkness within their own world. If you gaze closer, you can see that they look to be sitting around a table, one even with their laptop out. It almost seems as if most of the subjects are mesmerized by what is on the screen. However, the person on their laptop closest to us draws our attention and is the only one not trapped watching The Movie and sits inside their own world of thought. By placing the subjects into what looks to be a war prison camp, Lenaway juxtaposes the idea of being trapped in war, not knowing what will come on the horizon, to people blindly watching what is put in front of them. Although they look to be comfortable in their surroundings, the harsh realities of the modern world continue to surround them.
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in his work Republic, 375 B.C.
The birth of this concept of us feeling trapped within our modern world, unable to view our surroundings for what they actually stand for, originated in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave written in 375 B.C. Plato explains the concept of the cave as “Human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along with the den... and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them...To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.” Plato goes on to explain the principles that only the enlightened few can see these shadows for what they are and escape the cave. After the one who escaped has seen the world for what it is, they return to the cave, expressing their findings. Although they speak the truth, it is difficult for the people still trapped to understand, making them fearful of the outside world. In many ways, modernist artists feel as if they have escaped the cave, and are finally able to show the world for what it is. These artists choose to move ahead of the rest of the world in order to create what they see or feel, as opposed to what the institutions have embedded into our minds as what the definition of what “art” truly is.
Édouard Manet, The Railway, 1873.
Expressionist art examines not only what modernity stands for, but also how people look at the modern world. Here, only the young girl is able to look outside the fence. She gazes marvelously at the train racing by. However, the woman to the left is constrained within the harsh realities of the world, looking longingly back at us. One of the most interesting themes that Manet explores in his works is the concept of child-like wonder. Although we see this behavior as something they will inevitably grow out of, as the older woman has, Manet suggests for us to reconsider this notion. The child’s vision of the world is far less restrained by the institutions we have grown to accept and can be free to think what she likes. Another interpretation examines the woman’s role as a guardian, protecting the young girl from the cruelties of the outside world. The imagery of a dog resting in her lap evokes a thematic presence of domestication. This idea of the “domestic space” is an element of the institutionalized world that the young girl is only learning to absorb. As she looks beyond the fence, she sees the world outside of these institutions, yet, because of her youth and inexperience, people aren’t willing to listen.
René Magritte, La Condition Humaine, 1935.
La Condition Humaine is a truly mesmerizing work that explores the idea of the inner mind as opposed to the outside world. The more you look at this painting by Magritte, the more you question what exactly this painting within a painting is showing. It is unclear whether or not the castle actually exists within the “real” landscape or was it, in fact, a construct from Magritte’s own mind inserted on the canvas. It is important, however, to examine both of these angles. If this was a “realistic” depiction, Magritte could be exploring the value of seeing the world for what we are too blind to see. The castle peaks out around the mountainside, wanting to be seen, but could very well be overlooked. On the other hand, if the castle wasn’t actually part of the landscape, we are stepping within the mindset of the artist. In this case, Magritte has illustrated a scenario in which the artist has both physically and mentally escaped from The Cave. As we have learned throughout the semester, an abstract artist’s goal is to illustrate conceptual ideas that are trapped within the mindset of the modern individual, giving us a visual representation of what is happening within our imagination and subconscious. Magritte’s work reflects this notion because, whether the painting shown is “truthfully” depicting the landscape or not, there are no “correct” answers. The entire painting itself is just an imaginary scenario created from Magritte’s subconscious. Magritte is, in turn, welcoming this very discussion as well as allowing the viewer to explore the notion of seeing this painting as well as the world around them in a new light.
Nam Jun Paik, PBS 1963-2000 Then and Now, 1992.
We are so used to getting consistent gratification from the onslaught of new media while watching television. Here, the flashing TVs turn that idea against us, creating a haunting image that we can’t look away from. Nam Jun Paik uses color and imagery from our everyday world in order to create a hypnotic pattern, exploring how television and this onslaught of media is another way society constrains our visual sense from seeing the world around us. By setting the work within this tightly enclosed hallway, Paik is further emphasizing this idea of being trapped within the world of modernity. According to Eric Schultz’s documentary for “State of the Arts,” which examined the recent restoration of this piece, the writing surrounding the screens are from languages all around the world, emphasizing the idea of communication. According to Paik, in order to break free from this constant onslaught of an institutionalized way of seeing, we must help each other see the true nature of the modern world. While the images flash by on the screens, photographs of some of the major Fluxus and performance artists are shown as well, demonstrating that, within this everyday overload of media, there is still some value in all of it. In order to find these nuggets of truth, one must examine closely and gaze at all the intricate details of the world, not just taking things for what they seem to be at face value.
Sources:
Plato: The Golden Thread of Freedom
Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jspecphil.26.2.0361?
Representation and Reality: Plato and Mimesis
“The State of the Arts” - PBS (1963-2000)
