I recently listened to a podcast about the origins of the word “serendipity.” This word has a colorful history that spans many cultures, languages, and time periods. It is ultimately based on “Serendip,” an old Arabic word for the nation of Sri Lanka. A 15th century Persian folk tale tells the story of three princes from “Serendip” and how magical, unexpected occurrences allowed them to solve mysteries. An eighteenth century Englishman by the name of Horace Walpole coined the term serendipity to capture the uniqueness of the way in which these princes were able to solve their mysteries. Although the English languages contains around 200,000 unique words, there are so many situations that lack words to adequately describe them. It’s the small nuances of life that beg for words to capture their unique essence.
I, like Walpole, Shakespeare, and the many wordsmiths that have come before me have taken the liberty to coin a new word. I’ve thought a lot about how there is not word for the way artists describe their work. There’s an elegance and a finesse that artists use that the words ‘explain’, ‘describe’ or ‘communicate’ fail to…communicate. To capture the elegance, grace and wit that artists often use when describing their work, I have taken the liberty to create the word “paintsplain”.
Paintsplain catchall term I coined to describe an artist describing their work as if they were “painting a picture”. It is a is a portmanteau of the words ‘paint’ and ‘explain’ and can be used for any genre of art. The often colorful and rich language an artist uses to describe their work differs from the language a professor, museum docent or layperson would choose to utilize. The artist’s description is filled with life and itself gives a new dimension to the artwork. In extension, anyone explaining something by way of painting a picture could be considered to be “paintsplaining”.
The word paintsplain is also a play on the word ‘mansplain’, which is a term that describes men explaining something aggressively to a women in a derisive or derogatory manner. I like to keep things positive, so the more words out there that add color and beauty to the world, the better.
Happy Paintspalining.
Jaja
