Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away, with melodies that echo in all the universe, even in this world. Thanks to the brilliant composer John Williams, the introduction to the magical world full of heroic, despicable, and strange-looking characters was awe-inspiring and sometimes hilarious. (cue Jar Jar Binks)
Music is a special art form for creating depth in any scene. Williams’s musical scores and staccato beats have, not only increased the meaning of the films but also, musically explained mysterious scenes. Continue reading Musical Symbolism in Star Wars→
In Two Candles (1982), Gerhard Richter plays with the ambiguities of the painted image. Two lit candles seem to stand beside each other, framed by the dark shadow and white backdrop of their surroundings. Or perhaps only a single candle is shown, reflected back to itself in a mirror.
Speaking about Evolution (1911), Piet Mondrian wrote, “it’s not so bad, but I’m not there yet.” The three figures here represent the stages of evolution from the physical to the spiritual realm, as promoted in Theosophy. The triangular-shaped nipples and navels of the women, which point upwards and downwards, symbolize their spiritual and earthly orientation. The central figure embodies the fulfillment of the evolutionary process, to the spiritual realm. The flowers on the left panel are symbols of purity, while those on the right symbolize tragic suffering.
Peter Blume’s Light of the World (1932) delivers an allegorical critique of modernity and the unquestioning embrace of progress. The four figures are transfixed by the bright light of a fantastical lamp whose brilliance contrasts with the darkening sky overtaking a cathedral based on Notre Dame in Paris – a juxtaposition implying that the faith once reflected in Gothic architecture’s soaring spires had been transferred to modern technologies. Blume identified the mustachioed figure as a ventriloquist’s dummy – his personal symbol for the voiceless and impotent American worker – another hint of the societal pressures that keep us in thrall to technological progress, often against our best interests.
Photographed in the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC.
Painted in the summer of 1929, The Accommodations of Desire is a small gem that deals with the twenty-five-year-old Dalí’s sexual anxieties over a love affair with an older, married woman. The woman, Gala, then the wife of Surrealist poet Paul Éluard, became Dalí’s lifelong muse and mate. In this picture, which Dalí painted after taking a walk alone with Gala, he included seven enlarged pebbles on which he envisioned what lay ahead for him: Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Salvador Dali, The Accommodations of Desire→
