From: MarshaV (marshalz@charter.net)
Date: Wed Aug 31 2005 - 10:48:22 BST
At 09:09 PM 8/30/2005 -0400, Platt posted:
> > Have you seen the watercolor painting by John Singer Sargent called
> > 'Bedouins' (1905-1906)? In 2000, I so much admired the painting's
> > representation of beauty, that I made myself a copy in oils.
> >
> > Take a look. Isn't it beautiful?
>
>Indeed it is, and thanks for bringing it to my attention. I hadn't see it
>before. Sargent's watercolors are breathtaking..
>
>Platt
Hi Platt,
It is a beautiful painting. To me, Sargent was an artist possessed by
grace. There are many artists I admire, but he is the teacher for this
humble student.
This particular painting has had a mysterious affect on me. I checked and
I actually painted it in 1999. As you know when you attempt such a copy
you look very hard to see what the original painter saw. At the time, I
saw humanity, a man and a woman standing before the artist. Without the
trappings of modernity, they stood possessing great dignity. I thought
them the most beautiful people I'd ever seen. I managed a very
satisfactory copy which I hung in my studio. I was very proud of the
painting. Not because of any painting skill on my part, but because I
thought I had captured what Sargent had seen.
Then came 9/11. I saw a resemblance between the man in the painting and
Bin Ladin, both in physical appearance and spiritual presence. This threw
me into total confusion. I couldn't stop looking at this man and this
woman. Who were they really? Who is Bin Ladin? Having made this copy
of Sargent's watercolor, I am without answers. The media and its pundits
are far too crass to provide an answer. "They're terrorists!" is not a
complete answer. Under that label "terrorist" there are much deeper
questions.
Maybe painting is teaching me that there are only questions, with solutions
that only last a moment. Does that make sense?
In the months leading up to the present Iraqi War, I made a painting of
John Wayne. I was trying to discover a deeper level of the American
culture, my culture. I cried a lot.
Painting has become my religion. Is your experience similar?
Marsha
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