* I’m Too Sad to Tell You (1970) by Bas Jan Ader. This photograph is a self-portrait. The artist never told anyone why he was so sad, but he sent this photo to his friends. Sometimes words don’t work. Sometimes we have to find other ways to tell people how we’re feeling. Sometimes nobody can hear your voice.
* The Persistence of Memory (1931) by Salvador Dali. This painting shows three watches that have all melted and are oozing over various things. They have all stopped at different times, which is why I think it’s called The Persistence Of Memory. No matter how much time passes and no matter what terrible things may happen, we still remember. Sometimes I’m glad to have memories and sometimes I wish that they’d go away. Memories aren’t always a good thing – not if they remind you of something you’ll never have ever again.
* Summer (1573) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. This is cool! I’m definitely going to try to do this myself – make my own face using fruit and vegetables. I really like his cucumber nose and his peapod smile. I bet Giuseppe was a fun person to hang around with. And let’s face it – it’s way more exciting to create art with this stuff than to actually eat it!
* Dimpled Cheeks (1955) by Jean Dubuffet. This artist used butterfly wings as a collage to make a picture of an old lady. The wings totally look like that weird browny-orange material that old ladies like to wear. She looks kind, though, even though she is made out of dead animals. She makes me think that she’d be a good listener if you needed a friendly ear.
* Cracked Earth Removed (1986) by Andy Goldsworthy. I suppose that this is kind of a sculpture. The artist found some ground where the earth was all cracked and took away certain pieces. Probably everybody thought he was mad but he knew what he wanted. He kept going and then, when you see it from above, it looks like an entire world. He took something away and made a totally new thing. This makes me think that sometimes, it’s worth trying something new. Just to see what happens.
* Here I Am, Here I Stay (1990) by Louise Bourgeois. A pair of feet in a glass box, on top of a big slab of marble. Some people might think that this is a bit weird and if I’m honest, so do I – but in a good way. It makes me think about how amazing humans can be. How, if we’re determined enough, we can do almost anything. Some people don’t have staying power and they think it’s OK to leave. This sculpture reminds me that not everybody goes. Some people stay with you, no matter what.
* The Dog (1957) by Pablo Picasso. My favourite picture EVER. Picasso drew a picture of his dog with just one line but he still managed to exactly sum up how brilliant and fun and loyal his dachshund was. Just like my Picasso. He drew other animals like this too, but I think the dog is his best one (although the camel is actually pretty genius too).
* Last Sickness (1953) by Alice Neel. There is something about this oil painting that makes me utterly sad. I’m not sure if it’s the way that the old lady is slumped in her chair or if it’s the fact that her glasses are all wonky, but she looks like she’s really tired. And not the sort of tired that a good night’s sleep will sort out but the sort of tired where she just might not bother to wake up in the morning. Alice Neel painted this picture of her mum and I think it looks like there’s no life left in her. Like she’s already gone.
* In the Garden (1885) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The two people in this painting are sitting in a garden and I think they’re in love. The thing is, the man is gazing at the lady as if she’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen but she isn’t looking at him. She’s looking at us. And it’s impossible to tell what she is thinking. Maybe she’s imagining spending the rest of her life with him. Or perhaps she thinks it all seems a bit scary and she wishes that she was somewhere else.
* Fish and Frogs (1949) by M. C. Escher. This is a brilliant picture where fish and frogs tessellate together and you’re never really sure what you’re meant to be looking at. One second you’re sure that you’re looking at a frog and then BOOM – it’s gone. It’s confusing. Everything changes in the blink of an eye.
* Life Death, Knows Doesn’t Know (1983) by Bruce Nauman. This art is made out of flickering neon lights that flash up different words: Cares Doesn’t Care, Knows Doesn’t Know, Pleasure Pain Love Hate. I feel like I don’t know anything, definitely not what I’m supposed to be doing or how I’m supposed to be feeling. And I’m wondering how I can go from happiness to sadness so quickly.
* Me and the Moon (1937) by Arthur Dove. The colours at the top of this painting make it look beautiful and calm until you look down. Then you realize that the mood has changed and it feels sad and depressed. And then you notice that the moon has been broken and you’re not sure that it can be fixed.
* The Dance of Life (1900) by Edvard Munch. This painting shows three women at different stages of life. The woman in a white dress on the left is waiting for it to be her time to dance. The woman in the red dress in the middle is dancing with her partner, ignoring everyone else around her. The woman in the black dress on the right has had her dance and all she can do now is watch and remember. This picture makes me think that we should dance while it’s our turn, because one day we’ll be the ones who are watching and the only thing left will be our memories.
* The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1990) by Damien Hirst. This piece of art is actually a dead tiger shark, floating in a tank of formaldehyde, which means it won’t go rotten for years. Lots of people got a bit upset about this piece of art. Some people said it wasn’t even art and that it was rubbish. Damien Hirst was cool, though – when someone told him that anyone could have done that with a shark and called it art, he just said ‘But they didn’t, did they?’ I actually think it’s OK. I think it shows how difficult it is for humans to think about dying. And maybe, it means that something isn’t really dead if it still exists in the minds of the people left alive. I like that idea a lot.
Five Things They Never Told Me Page 18