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_perception _
By: nic
To see a scorned, beaten, and crucified man, lying dead in the arms of his
mother is an image, which can inspire overwhelming emotions within the heart
of an observer. Yet, for the longest time I've had such difficulty looking at
Michelangelo's art in this way. To me, art has never been about expressing
oneself or conveying a message to others, but simply creating an image for the
sake of beauty and perfection. When I look at Michelangelo's art I see a cold,
solid mass of marble carved by the skilled hands of a master, Rather than this
work of great beauty, capable of eliciting a deeply emotional response. I look
at it in terms of the techniques Michelangelo used the understanding he had of
the human form, to render a piece ultimately comprising precision and realism.
It has been upon these standards that I have based my concept of what art is.
In my eyes, art has always been just a unique ability that I have. I feel
driven by it, not to express some deep emotion, but almost as an obsession to
perfect my own ability. Every stroke of a brush and every motion I make are to
make what I've created more detailed, graceful, and real. I'm only now
beginning to realize how much more there is to art than what I had previously
understood. When I look at a piece of my work, I see the detail and realism of
it, yet somehow I feel that these aspects are all that it possesses. I wonder
whether or not I've almost turned my sense of art into a science that lacks
the essential characteristics of art, which are expression and emotion.
Somehow now I have begun to see that the strictness and precision of my art
truly is an expression of who I am, and that through it, one can understand
how I perceive the world around me. Personally I feel uncomfortable in a world
where nearly every aspect of our lives is becoming less clearly defined and
where right and wrong are continually forsaken for a vague sense of truth. So
in some respects, art provides me with the sense of structure, order, and
continuity, which I feel, is lacking in modern life. I've found that the
meaning of art goes far beyond any technique or style, and that for each
individual, art is a reflection of his or her own unique identity. While the
touching image of a mother and child or the powerful story of the scorned
savior in the Pieta may bring tears to the eyes of some, but in my eyes the
greatest beauty and the deepest meaning exists in the grace and realism that
lies within every detail of this masterpiece.
Word Count: 460
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