If there is one thing I love to do, it is to give my artworks names. The name of an artwork is often just a few words, but actually, it is much more than that.
It´s interesting that works of art like paintings, books, songs, plays all have their names. Just like people have their names. An artwork is sort of a world in an of itself, full of emotion and with it´s own unseen story happening inside of it. A name is often a suggestion, but doesn´t give the secret away. Just like a person´s name. We might have a vague feeling about a particular name, but we don´t know everything about the person. It entices us just enough to ask a question, it sucks us in. The rest is left to be explored. The rest is our own adventure that the work takes us on as it resonates with our own inner world. We go on a journey just like we go on a journey while reading a book or watching a movie. No one gives us the spoiler (hopefully) and we can have the pleasure of the experience. Sometimes the journey has words. Sometimes it is wordless, like floating on the waves in sea, engaging our senses beyond our mind. Sometimes the secret never comes out.
All of that story wraps up the essence of the work. It is like a soul to a person. It´s something intangible that can be felt. Something mysterous.
I love mystery. There is something enchanting about it. Mystery is often hidden in the quiet moments in between loud moments. It is hidden in that quiet moment when you surrender to absorb something into yourself . Maybe like absorbing something floating inside of your lover´s eyes. You don´t know what it is, you´ve never seen anything like it before, but it´s indescribably beautiful.
It is really strange to imagine a world where artworks wouldn´t have names. Just like it´s strange to imagine a world where people didn´t have names. Are you imagining it? In a way, a name honors the person, allows them to take up space. It says that they are important and they have their own soul and story. Our own lives too, are in a way art. They unfold in strange ways and they carry our essence throughout.
Today, I will look at three paintings.
Lonely Kingdom, Aron Wiesenfeld, 2024, source: https://aronwiesenfeld.com/x10sare9hy6abgoaik1xewrkixxfe1
„Lonely Kingdom“ already suggests the emotion laced through this painting. It suggests to us what the author intended with it. For me, it calls out a question: „Why are we so lonely, and where does loneliness come from?“ The girl on the white horse looks relaxed yet sad. The leaves have all fallen down and the trees have become quiet. Maybe it´s as quiet as in her kingdom. There isn´t a soul to talk to. Maybe there isn´t a soul to awaken the music in her heart. Maybe she is wondering outside of her kingdom, hoping to find that music, but everything seems so silent.
Winter night in the mountains, Harald Sohlberg, 1914, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Night_in_the_Mountains
„Winter night in the mountains“ – this name calls me to take the whole scenery in in it´s glory. It feels like a whole orchestra playing an epic, yet mellow song. Then I continue looking. When I am looking at this painting, maybe I am a person, a cross-country skier who feels lost I find comfort in the deep blue color and look at the star above with blind hope to my future.
Night swimmers, Monika Zimová, 2024.
The name of this artwork doesn´t really give much away, as it describes what is physically depicted on the painting. It only directs our attention to the swimming people. They are a very small thing in the whole painting. They are surrounded by water that is deeply blue, which, for me, resonates with a feeling of calm depth. When I see them in this softly blue night when no one else is awake, I feel that they have found an escape from something. It´s like a dream. They are having a break from their daily lives. They are feeling emotional, perhaps sharing that with each other. At the same time they feel elated to open up like that and have that experience with each other. They know what it feels like to belong.
Your interpretations of these paintings may have been totally different and that natural, because everyone connects to an artwork in a different way based on who they are and their internal experience. Or maybe they were the same, you can tell me in the comments. Maybe you have a favorite artwork that you would like to share something like this about. All in all, I hope you keep exploring and feel much wonder uncovering the names of artworks.
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