Creative writing field trip to the Tate (Liverpool) for first year students to take notice of art and write a blog piece in response, opened the door for new challenges.
Creative with words, now having to use visual stimulation to ignite an emotion was an interesting task. One that came after hard work, frustrating failed attempts and finally with the aid of a tour guide – background research.
Buddying up with my fellow ‘mature student’ (in age not in mind), Eddie and I scoured the first two floors for inspiration. Finding that the images before us left us feeling more confused than connected. The abstract art and display of bold patterns did not speak to us in any language we could understand. We found ourselves staring at each other in bemusement with the artwork leaving no lasting impact upon our day.
In-fact, by the time we hit the third floor, we were feeling rather frustrated. I had started the day with excitement at the prospect of writing in response to a piece of art created by another. Something I had not attempted before. However as the number of abandoned frames passed, the more we lost hope of finding what we searched for.
Then came Salvador Dali’s oil painting, hung upon a wired cage, set within the center of the room. The green lake and hillside stopped us both in our tracks. Luckily a tour guide stood close by and was able to answer our questions.
Salvador had painted this piece to depict the lake in which his parents had visited prior to his conception. His parents had lost a child (also named Salvador) some years before and his mother suffered from depression as a result. Upon sight of this lake, Salvador’s mother was overcome and released her grief claiming the lake had cured her.
Salvador features within this piece a disconnected telephone representing the breakdown in communication between England and Germany at the beginning of the second world war. This is something we can all understand and in many cases, relate to. Giving the painting a despondent feel with the use of different shades of green, experimenting with the uncanny and mystical.
This was the painting that I felt I could respond to. I’m not sure whether it’s the mystical feel or the hidden fish within the lake that keeps me engaged. Staring upon the tribute scene for his family, Salvador captures my imagination – immersing me into the landscape. The snails placed upon the receiver, I feel, represent the slow speed of this piece, reflecting the stillness of the captured space and producing a silent living being upon the mute object.
Salvador’s artwork is beautifully sad and mesmerizingly painful. A landscape chosen for its healing powers plagued with the realization of soon to be war. Maybe he placed the telephone here in the hope this could cure the relationship between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler in the same way it had cured his mother.
REDSMITHS and ROBINS 