Naive fantasy
March 3rd, 2024
It could have been called a “Break in the Clouds”, or “After the Storm”, or “Springday”. But it was titled “The Hymn” and that title fits and I get it completely.
I can appreciate art for just itself, or for the message, or for the technique, or for the particular palette of colors, or for its significance, or for the harmony of shapes, or for its groundbreaking effect, or for its aesthetics. It could be any of many things that make me stop and look closer at the work of art before compartmenting it in my memory for pleasurable recall or as a piece of puzzle that fits the bigger whole. Then, there is art that speaks to me on a much deeper level than just the canvas or other medium it is created on and in. Art that I understand on a primeval and unconscious level. Art that might not be appreciated by or well-known to the public at large. Art that I never search for, art that finds me — usually by accident.
Today I went to M.K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art in Kaunas, to finally see in the flesh the paintings of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. I already knew and appreciated his work as presented in internet reproductions, and was expecting to have a pleasurable morning there. It was much more than that. From the first painting, I knew the concepts and understood the presentation of his work. It was not necessary for me to read the titles and descriptions. All I needed was to soak in a connection with a stranger removed by several generations from me and an unspoken understanding of his creations. His style can be described (among other things) as a naive fantasy, and that fits me as well. There is no need for sophistication when naive and native phantasmagoria will do.
