If you are an art collector, then art does not really have any meaning for you, and the only purpose of art for you would be to earn profits.

However, for the rest of us, which includes the artist, the curator and the viewer, art can have very different meanings and a very different purpose.

As I believe in Socialism and Humanism, I tend to fall for Van Gogh’s quote; “ Art is to console those, who are broken by life,” and here in this blog I will discuss my view of looking at art.

This is a series, with multiple episodes (blogs), a bit like a Netflix series. In each Episode, I will introduce you to three very catchy artworks, from around the world, my take on them, what do they mean, what is their purpose, and how do they help make the World, a better place to live in.

“ART is to console those, who are broken by life”

Unless the artwork is an abstract piece of work, it is usually not difficult to associate a meaning to it. For instance, the artwork above, leaves no doubts, that the artist has tried to draw a TV on a set of drawers, a window and bird cage with a bird on top of another set of drawers. There is no ambiguity in it and most viewers are likely to interpret it as such.

As far as the purpose if concerned, it also leaves us with no doubts, that the artist is homeless, and it is quite safe to say here, that the artist is indeed broken by life, and uses art to console herself.

I do not know who this homeless person is, nor do I know who did that artwork, but I could easily write a short story about Van Gogh himself creeping in, in the darkness of night, under the tunnel, and drawing in a living room, for this homeless friend of his; except that in this case instead of coming down the chimney, he would have probably come down those stairs!

My take away: If your values are in the correct place, then we could all be Banksy.

ART is to help you not take life too seriously

The Comedian ( duct tape banana): In December 2019, the Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork, a banana taped to the wall by duct tape, sold for around $120,000, and provoked various threads of discussion, thus placing him and his readymade in the category of Duchamp’s Fountain, Starck’s Juicy Salif and Banksy’s graffiti.

Again the artwork here is, what it is. It is a banana, and that is what it means. Globally the banana could be a double entendre, a symbol of humour, or just a fruit. In this case it obviously is humour, probably with a hint of satire.

The comedian David Datuna, when he went to see “The Comedian” at an art exhibition, had a very different take on it’s purpose. He ate it. He explained his actions on Instagram: “Art performance by me. I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork, and I really love this installation. It’s very delicious.”

When asked, by journalists, the reason for his obnoxious behaviour, he answered — “The same thing with Duchamp 100 years ago. With my performance, I put my question mark after his question mark. This is just a game between two artists.” [ He of course was referring to Marcel Duchamp’s “The Fountain” which I will cover in subsequent Episodes of the same series.]

Learn and Apply: Reading need not necessarily be a serious activity …

Back in my home, my 8 year old daughter and I found this Banana Artwork, extremely amusing and thought of doing our own version of it.

Reading is thought by many as a very serious activity. Some think of it as boring as well. So, we thought of sticking it on our bookshelf, thus using it as a meme and/or inspiration, to encourage ourselves and others to read more and more ….

A lot of the problems of the world can be solved if people read more… ( don’t miss the little reader in the reflection)

Sunflower Seeds:

Don’t forget the minions | Made in China with Love.

The history of the world, we know, is usually the history of the leaders. We know about kings and queens, about wars and revolutions, but we hardly ever spare a thought about what it might have been to be a common person, who shoulders these wars and revolutions.

If you google Mao’s communist revolution, you would get an image of Chairman Mao’s bust rising out out of Sunflower fields. The idea often is to compare him to the Sun, rising up from the horizon, with the sunflower fields as an appropriate side hero in those images.

Chinese artist and art-activist, Ai Weiwei, wants to remind us of the people who fueled this revolution and made it a success. He wants to remind us of the minions, and metaphorically replaces them with millions of beautifully hand-crafted ceramic Sunflower seeds!

The fabrication of the seeds was carried out in the city of Jingdezhen in northern Jiangxi, a region of China south of Beijing. Historically famous for its kilns and for the production of imperial porcelain, this region is still known for its high quality porcelain production. The sunflower seeds were made by individual craftspeople in a ‘cottage-industry’ setting, rather than in a large-scale factory, using a special kind of stone from a particular mountain in Jingdezhen.

Far from being industrially produced, the sunflower seeds are intricately and individually handcrafted, prompting a closer look at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon commonly associated with cheap mass-produced goods. The myriad sunflower seeds — each unique yet apparently the same — can be seen toevoke the quest for individuality in a rapidly transforming society.

This product is one that is not only Made in China, but also designed in China, and both with lots of love, but as usual, not just for the people of China, but for the people of the World, or more specifically should we say:

To honour every minion that ever existed in the history of the world. Minions who shouldered the revolutions, and made the world a better place to live in.