Behind Blue Eyes
I saw a painting today that looked like the kaleidescope that is my head, or specifically the inside of my head when I’m daydreaming and night dreaming sometimes, and when I was a little girl and pressed the palms of my hands against my eyelids until I saw colors and shapes and stars, and when I was in Costa Rica taking yoga classes and focusing on my breath until all I saw were colors behind my eyelids.
The title also intrigued me because I’m always thinking and noticing and conscious of how everything is composed of the same materials; energy that is electrons, protons and neutrons, arranged in different ways, making a finite number of chemical compounds. Everything from bananas to aluminum cans to carpet to laughing gas to my heart - they’re all basically the same thing, energy. And so I was talking with a friend the other day about how if everything is energy, and the air is energy, and all mass and gases and everything is made up of the same substance, are we truly separate individuals or are we all and is everything both the animate and the inanimate, a part of one large organism?
It felt really unusual to see something that I had only ever before seen inside my head, and I also loved the impression of both the organic pieces of a human combined with the organic pieces of the planet. I loved it, and I’m going back to the Art Institute tomorrow to see it again.
The Earth Is A Man
- Roberto Antonio Sebastian Matta Eschaurren, 1942
Detail Views
July 31st, 2008 at 7:36 am
I am always searching the web for anything Roberto Matta and stumbled across your blog. Just thought I would let you know there is a great website if you havent found it yet with much of his work over the many years- http://www.matta-art.com/ .
It sounds like you had a “Matta moment” . I had one myself years ago while visiting a college museum. I can’t tell you how long I was standing there in front of that painting (Rain). I believe the painting I saw was from the same period as this painting.
He is a rare true Artist. It is like he peels away all the material layers of life and then paints what is just underneath.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:08 am
It was astounding - thank you for the link I can’t wait to check out more of his work. Just lovely.