Happy Easter! This year, the holiday completely took me unawares. Where is the time going? It would be different if I had children, then I’d be all on top of what holiday was coming up. I’d also be more aware if I attended church. Anyway… Today is the day the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being horrifically tortured and killed. His image has been seen in everything from ancient altars to toast…. and of course, chocolate.
In keeping with my last post, I decided to put up a surrealist painting I am quite fond of. Le Jockey Perdu (The Lost Jockey) is a work that the artist Renee Magritte produced several versions of. The image in this post is my favorite. I am drawn to this one because of the vast space. The jockey looks so small frozen in mid-charge trying to make his way through the stylized bare trees. The scene is uncanny. It feels like a dream. I don’t identify with the jockey or see it as some metaphor of life. I appreciate the painting for its ability to keep me engaged with it and how it makes me wonder.
As much as I enjoy looking at what is being made today in art, I definitely have my favorite works of art that I go back and review. When I first started learning about art in school, the movement that really spoke to me was Surrealism.
Hee, hee, hee!
I’m always looking for ways to get information to the students in the department I teach in. I’ve put flyers in the hallway outside my office door listing things like where to go to find out about financial aid or class enrollment times. Nothing seemed to be working effectively until I figured out what I was missing. I needed the power of Ryan Gosling. After I placed a photo of him on one of my posters, I saw a significant jump in students reading what was on my door.