The Golden Wall

One huge empty wall waiting to be filled with my most favorite art pieces:

Dali’s ‘The Dream”

You are not supposed to sleep, but you can’t help it. The second you close your eyes you are in the dream world. Those thin sticks try to keep you awake, but you are so heavy. You want to be touching the ground and completely dedicate yourself to sleep. You right in the middle. You will either wake up or go to sleep. Your neck hurts while you fight with duty and instinct. It is so peaceful yet so painful.

Joan Mitchell’s “Sunflowers”

A true example of how a few splatters can turn into emotions, thoughts and stories on a canvas. Joan Mithcell never painted directly from a scene. She would first go out pick a favorite scenery or item and paint it from memory, bringing forth the emotions involved with that special place.

Amadeo Modigliani’s “Reclining Nude”

Modigliani’s nudes have a special place in my heart. His use of colors and tone tells me so much about how he examined and appreciated a woman’s body. The way “The Reclining Nude” lies on the white sheets, standing out with the warm skin color Modigliani picked for her in front of a reddish black background. Her face reflects shyness while she poses in one of the most daring positions. The way her waist narrows non-proportional to her body giving her a much curvier warm bottom almost tells me how much Modigliani was in love with his part of her body.

Botero’s “Mona Lisa”

Only Botero can turn one of the most beautiful woman in the history of art into a fat, big headed woman and still be able to reflect beauty.

Guiseppe Arcimboldo’s “Summer”

For a painter who lived in 1500s, Arcimboldo is a genius. His use of seasonal flowers, fruits and vegetables to form human faces crosses the boundary between painting a still life or an emotional figure. Unlike “Winter” or “Autumn”, “Summer” depicts the face of a cheerful woman.

Andy Warhol

Although I am not a big Andy Warhol fan, I came across this piece in one of the museums in New York and have liked it a lot. I really do not want to put Warhol in the same category with the painters and paintings I have mentioned so far because they (in my opinion) require a much detailed and demanding work regimen. I believe Warhol was a genius in reflecting the huge change in an ordinary person’s life with the entry into the world of mass consumption. Just like Emile Zola described in detail in his novel “Au Bonheur des Dames”, Andy Warhol removed the once essential handiwork from art and applied the functionality and speed of mass consumption to his work. Although I don’t know the name of the piece above, it one my favorite. Just like a woman with an ugly nose can become beautiful as fast as the eye can travel to the next screen, a blank Warhol canvas can be the most sought after piece in the modern art world within hours.