Overheard: A Conversation Between Two Art Enthusiasts
“So what does this one look like, to you?”
“Uhm, let me think. This one is really minimalist, so it’s going to be harder to interpret.”
“Yeah, it’s basically an empty canvas, really. Just a big splotch of dark black paint on a super white canvas.”
“Aaha, maybe that means something. Black over white. You know, race and everything?”
“Yeah, possibly. Or maybe no, you know? The whole race point is not to put black over white. Like, black lives matter is not that only black lives matter, rather black lives matter also. So if this painting is something about race, I think the artist did a terrible job of that.”
“Well, that could be one possibility. Wait a second, is this the new Vantablack black paint, the blackest black paint every created? It does look super duper ultra uber extremely black to me. Hey, it really is, look how dark it is. There is no reflection of any light on it whatsoever, it is absorbing absolutely every single photon that is being emitted by every single LED light in this gigantic lit gallery. I feel like it is absorbing everything about me in some sense. Like the words I am speaking are falling onto its deafening black ears. The air I am exhaling is getting sponged up by its silent breathlessness. I feel like I am losing my senses, consequentially losing all track of time, and the very essence of my being and existence. Wow, this is genius, I am impressed!”
“Uh, no, you are clearly in the wrong here? Vantablack was exclusively acquired by Anish Kapoor for his artwork. And this painting is not by him. So no, this is certainly not Vantablack.”
“Huh, well yeah… I do see some of the white canvas below it…”
“How irrational is that though, you know? How can that guy just acquire a color exclusively for himself? Everybody should have a right to use Vantablack in their artwork. I mean, art is the utmost form of freedom of expression. And the paints are the words we use to express ourselves. You cannot take away a paint from us, that’s like trying to censor our words! And what good is freedom of expression if you censor our words out. Do you see what I mean?”
“I do, absolutely. But well, Vantablack is not like regular paint. It has some cool carbon nanotechnology that creates this highly absorbent pigment and everything, so it’s more of a technology to be licensed. I guess it’s okay for him to have acquired it then? I mean, he paid for it, you know.”
“Oh, are you bringing science and capitalist economics into this? What sort of an artist are you?”
“Uhm, a pragmatic one?”
“Phshk. And a blind one too, I guess. Can’t you see, this painting is absolutely not black? There is something below it. The actual painting has been painted over by black paint. Like, it has been redacted or something. Maybe it is about censorship, after all.”
“Oh yeah, wait a second, you might be right. I can see some of the sketch lines. And look, that part looks greenish-black. That portion looks reddish-black. This patch in the center looks bluish-black. Oh man, how did we not notice this earlier? Is this some deceptive optical illusion kind of a painting? Wow, this is genius, I am impressed!”
“What the — ? How can you distinguish among different hues of black? Are you color blind too now? Or maybe just synesthetic. Stop seeing things which are not there.”
“Hey, stop getting so agitated. Art is not just something which the artist intends to create. It is also what the viewer wants to interpret. It is the process of diving deep into the artist’s mind by applying your own to the outcome of theirs. It is a two-way communication. And no communication channel is perfectly accurate. Art, being the least perfect of them all. So I am as free to see things on my own whim, just as the artist is to draw things on their own! In fact, everybody is an artist.”
“But you can’t just go off on an absolute tangent, you know? You can’t look at the painting of Mona Lisa and say that you see a giant galaxy which has a tree for a black hole at its center. Art is open to decomposition and interpretation. But you can’t see and speak something absolutely unrelated to what you are viewing.”
“But that’s exactly where you are curtailing the freedom of interpreting expression! Who says this is unrelated? Give me enough time and I could draw a logical and conclusive, albeit long chain of thoughts, that could interpret the Mona Lisa as a galaxy with a giant tree at its center. And can you even draw a line anywhere? Like, where does this line of related and unrelated exist in our interpretation of art, or our interpretation of anything, in general? Aaha, maybe that, is the whole point of this painting! To show us that all of these interpretations that we have been talking about could be valid ones. There is no single correct answer, we are all equally right and thus equally wrong. And you know what, you can’t even argue with this interpretation of mine, because it is self-fulfilling, you know? Wow, that was genius, I am impressed!”
“Hey hey, calm yourself down, kiddo. I mean seriously, look carefully at this painting again. Notice, that the light is not falling flat onto the surface. It is being scattered, rather differentially. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because the underlying true painting, the thickness of that latent coat of paint, has etched out a surface. It’s all black in color, but the use of paint as a physically tangible material that scatters light has enabled us to see what the artist painted below this black cover. Oh look, I see a man over there! That is his face, his nose which looks a bit broken, his abnormally thin neck below it, his slouchy torso under that, followed further down by his excruciatingly small— ”
“What? I can’t see any of this. What are you even looking at? I think you are just projecting some masculine figure from your own terrible life onto this canvas.”
“Excuse me? Well, I think what is terrible is the idea to come to this museum for a first date. Although at least thanks to this stupid painting, I now know what a snob you are.”
“Hey! You don’t have to be so rude. But hang on a second — maybe that was the whole point of this painting? To provide such a minimalist context to the viewers that it initiates a long and winding conversation between them. It forces them to open up the deepest darkest blackest corners of their mind heart and soul to each other. This is art with a societal function! To provide a spark. A provocation. To be a cause of revolution. Wow, this is genius, I am impressed!”
“Ugh, dude, why are you not seeing what I am seeing! There really is a man’s face here, behind the black — ”
“Okay, alright, just for the sake of your argument, I will oblige to your hypothesis. There is an underlying texture, which for some reason, I cannot see. But I have an idea, please hear me out. Maybe the artist intended to illustrate that different people engage with the same object through different sensory perceptions. You can see the texture, but I cannot. But maybe I can feel the texture? Maybe there is a tactile percept which I might be stronger at than you? You know, all of our sensory experiences are in isolation. I don’t know if your red is same as mine, I don’t know if you feel pain in the same way as I do. But through these objects of the so-called real world, like art, we manage to connect. They bridge our sensations because at least our perceptions refer to the same entity, namely the piece of art under observation. That could be a strong point to make! Here, let me see if I can run my fingertips over this part of the painting and feel the underlying masculine figure you keep talking about.”
*alarms go off*
“What did you do?”
“What? Oh, nothing… Well, I just touched the painting. Shit, did the alarms go off because of that?”
“Oh. My. God. I don’t even know you. I am just going to slowly turn around, and leave now. Good. Bye.”
“No, wait, hold on a second! These aren’t actual burglar alarms! The alarms could just be a part of the artistic performance, you know? Maybe they are connected to the whole immersive experience of viewing this painting! It’s not just visual and tactile, it also wants to engage us with the sensation of sound. And additionally induce a feeling of fear, anxiety and embarrassment within us for having triggering the alarm systems of an art museum!
Wow, this is genius, I am impressed!”
