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Guernica - Pablo Picasso
I don't know as much about this piece as somebody who went to an arts school might be expected to, but I would say it's the one Picasso piece that I really admire. I don't think I've ever drawn any specific inspiration from it, but it speaks to me because there is so much going on here, so much being said, and it's all interconnected. This is how I like to see life and art, how I like to write. I absolutely love semi-obscure symbolism, and Guernica is rife with it.
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Girl Standing at Window - Salvador Dali
I really enjoy gazing at Salvador Dali pieces, trying to pick out all the complexities and symbolisms. This piece is the exact opposite of almost all the Dali pieces I've seen in that respect, and that's why it intrigues me. I may be imagining things or trying to compensate for the un-Dali-ness of this painting, but I feel as though I have seen a version of Girl Standing at Window that was more typical of Dali paintings, with absurdities like a floor that turned into the ocean... or something. Any hints? Leave me a message in the guestbook.
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Tower of Babel - Pieter Brueghel
I chose both of these pieces because one of the main things I like about them is the way they contrast. Tower of Babel looks so bright and sunny and happy. The industrious people of Earth are well on their way to reaching divinity. The Little Tower looks so much more ominous, with the deeper orangey tones and the smoky clouds and lack of people. It puts me in mind of the way things were after God had divided the people. They could no longer communicate with each other, and the tower wasn't completed.
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Little Tower of Babel - Pieter Brueghel
These two are inspirational to me in life as well as writing for much the same reason that the biblical story of the tower of Babel inspires me. The idea of bringing people together in pursuit of common goals, and that of breaking down language and communication barriers, is one that's important to me and is the path I'd like my career to follow.
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Self Portrait - Leonardo Da Vinci
It's not so much Da Vinci's art alone that inspires me, but the man himself and his occupations. Da Vinci was my little world's first 'renaissance man', a man who didn't need to slot himself into just one profession or calling. I learned about him through researching his art, but what I learned was that he was an inventor, an architect, a painter, and lots of other things. He was inspiring to me because he was oriented towards beautiful art and practical science, and seemed to realize that these things were connected.
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Violon d'Ingres - Man Ray
Man Ray has got to be my favourite photographer ever. The introductory piece at the top of the gallery page, one of several versions I've seen of Les Larmes, is one of the ones I love, and is also, incidentally, a well-known commercial piece. But my absolute favourite is Violon d'Ingres. I love
the metaphor implied, of a woman as a beautifully crafted, delicate instrument.
The two f-holes perfectly complement this woman's shape, the lines are so simple, and there is nothing extraneous in the photo. I just love looking at it, and it has been the inspiration for a couple written pieces, including one called "While my Guitar Gently Weeps", and a poem called "Recuerdo", both, incidentally, about guitars rather than violins, perhaps in some attempt to avoid copy-catting, and maintain obscurity of the reference.
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Three Spheres - M. C. Escher
Escher is cool. I mean, to sit there thinking up ways to defy physics in art... well it's cool! Other Escher classics have inspired my writing and my thoughts, but I like the simplicity of these spheres, and I chose it because spheres in general intrigue me. Also, anyone who can draw glass in pencil and make it and its reflection look... well like glass, has got my vote.
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