Now, Where Have I Painted You Before?

I’m a very visual learner, growing up I could always recognize the finished result of connect the dots very early on. I have a hard time relating to Fosters’ connect the dots issues; however, he makes a good point regarding practicing. I had a very gradual progression when it came to reading literature because I always struggled comprehending the material the first time reading, let alone recognizing archetypes and recurrences. I continue to focus on very minimal attributes of literature, sometimes forgetting to look at overall themes and patterns. As with literature, there’s now wholly original work of art. I recently visited the John Singer Sargent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I was encouraged to focus on his original techniques and use of atmospheric perspective; however, its difficult to overlook similar techniques performed by Diego Velazquez and other artists prior to Sargent’s fame. This; however, doesn’t detract from Sargent’s manipulation of oil paint, in fact it adds to the composition and character of his work, similar to O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato. Sargent also recognizes the similarities in his work to that of Velazquez and openly illustrates his inspiration in his work. Unlike O’Brien’s inspiration from Lewis Carrol and Ernest Hemingway, Sargent is much more subtle. I’m very intrigued when analyzing specific characters in literature because I never considered the author’s development of each person. Sarkin Aung Wan’s correlation with Sacajawea is a very impressive display of diligence and thought on the author’s part. Aside from a well-written novel, subtle indications of history and past works embodied in characters and settings are fascinating. This is a fairly amateur example, but Breaking Bad offers so many indistinct references to science and literature. One profound example is the sixty-two episodes the series had. The sixty-second element on the periodic table, Samarium, is used to treat to lung cancer. I can agree with O’Brien when he says, “there’s only one story.” Art revolves around the same principles and elements of design, regardless of the medium or working space. All art is derived around color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value and there are so many varying concepts that are executed based on these elements. Similar to art, literature is derived from basic concepts of archetypes and a general storyline, which I believe is what O’Brien is saying. He is also depicting literature as a continuing sequence of stories and poems, each containing different attributes of the work before it. I find this to be a very beautiful experience when the reader recognizes the literary precursors. I continue to struggle with finding many of these subliminal hints, but the occasional “aha!” moment for me is so gratifying, especially when nobody else recognizes the precursor. I recently attended a pre-college intensive at MICA where I was assigned the task of making a body of art that included a past narrative relating to the modern era. I decided to incorporate Jack and the Beanstalk in a metaphorical sense with a car representing the beanstalk as a means of traveling from point A to point B. I thought it was amusing to see how this idea discussed in the chapter had a very direct impact on my art and everyday life.