This is a relatively famous painting by the artist Rene Magritte. It is titled Perspicacity ("René Magritte, Perspicacity").
Perspicacity is defined as keenness of mental perception and understanding ("Perspicacity"). This is a fitting start to this blog series because it both demonstrates the depth of thinking I am trying to promote, and also offers a dire warning to the dangers of such interpretation.
I first encountered this painting in eleventh grade, when our English teacher asked us to describe what this painting modeled about the public school system. We all quickly found the "right" answer. We stated that this painting shows how a student's potential is already imagined by the great instructor, and how the instructor paints us into our future image. We were quickly disillusioned.
Our teacher placed a ruler over the painting and drew a line from his eyes to just above the egg. The painter was looking to where he thought the bird would be. Then our teacher asked to name all the types of things that came out of eggs. Our list included turtles, ostriches, sharks, and dinosaurs. But this painter is painting a very plain bird. She then proposed that this painting did indeed resemble the public school system: the instructors focus on expectations, not their students, and the image they pursue is no more than the plainest possible result.
I wish to use this painting to symbolize deep thinking. As we search for symbolism and depth in the humanities, there is a tendency to find "the right answer." We think we have the shrewdness to pull out the obvious implications. Deep thinking, however, is quite the opposite. It is a self journey into platforms for discovery. The authors intentions, the common interpretation, and this blog are great kindling, but the end goal is that you, the audience, will cease to be the audience. For a true edification through the humanities you must not look above the egg and see a pigeon, but look at the egg and see a masterpiece.
Works Cited
"Perspicacity."
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspicacity>.
"René
Magritte, Perspicacity." Olga's Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.abcgallery.com/M/magritte/magritte35.html>.
I really enjoyed reading this blog. I love the concept and idea behind it. I think the “deep thinking” theme is really captivating and I found myself instantly intrigued on the subject matter. The first post did require a lot of deep thinking. It is very interesting to try and figure out what the message is that the artist tried to convey. I thought the same thing as you upon my initial look at the painting. But, after reading further into the blog, and reading the true interpretation, I was mesmerized by the symbolism and true message of the painting.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should expect this from a student who used bathroom graffiti for his Facebook assignment! :)
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