I have been thinking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs* recently. Where do I stand in this pyramid? Do I wander around the steps? How do I step up? These are tough questions to answer. Art takes place on the top of the pyramid under the need for self-actualization, the realization of one’s full potential.
ART…
“True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.”
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein said if he were not a physicist, he would probably be a musician and he got most joy in the life out of his violin. I do imagine myself as a painter. Well, I am not a painter but a researcher now! I recently directed my curiosity and research instincts into the paintings. Why not combine my two interests!? I am trying to discover the details, as a Virgo, I am hyper-aware of every detail, and find a meaning out of them.
I want to take you to the deep of a painting that I am amazed by. I am so grateful that some people engage in the art, as Einstein said having the urge of creating. They achieved self-actualization and were lucky to pursue their life at the top of the pyramid.
THE KISS
You remember the painting once you see it! If you have just met, you are so lucky. Here is the best-known painting of Gustav Klimt… The Kiss.
I met with the painting 8 years ago in Vienna. This huge canvas, almost four meters square, pictures the lovers locked together passionately. When you take your eyes off the spark of their glamorous gold leaf gowns, you realize the contrast in them. The woman is dressed in a flowery gown while the man’s gown represented in a more sharp, rigid form. But still, you can realize the circular figures in both remembering us the similarity between two genders besides the diversity of them. Klimt draws the circular objects in the golden cloth that enfold the lovers as well. Circular symbols represent eternity, infinite energy, unity. The synergy and the energy they create may be represented with these symbols. The starry night behind them is pictured letting the lovers be still the focus of interest. Flowery meadow on which they stand completes the dreamlike, richly decorative composition.
Another reason to like this painting is the way Klimt combined the Byzantine, Japanese and Egyptian styles. He embraced the modern movement that is influencing European art, as well as drawing on these styles making me feel close to this canvas. Mesopotamia, the region where I was born, let us be aware of and enjoy and this variety, harmony in the mixture and the order from chaos.
The female body was a frequent motif in Klimt’s work making him one of the greatest artists in my sight who sees the beauty in females. Females were characterized by a languid sensuality, losing herself in swooning ecstasy drawing the dream of the woman inside me by brushstrokes…
