Reflection

I perceived symbolism in the painting as half constructed figures that were completed in my mind. I associated depicted elements with known figures through shape. Overwhelmingly, these were ribbons with eyes that consequently became worms. The grainy, patchy red background regions resembled arid desert of small stones, which being hot and untouchable was unmistakably the background for its lack of contact with the objects place atop it. From that point forth, all the elements with more distinct shapes formed an ecosystem of primitive interaction with one another. To me this interaction came in the form of observation, especially since the black dots to me appeared to be eyes. The worms and eyes were the key interacting organisms, and thus the other ornaments fell away from my consideration. The greens and blues in the background too fell away as either having dried up or consumed by the greater quantity of desert. Now the objects at forefront that the painting presented became fewer and manageable, meaning I could keep track of all the elements with one look at the reimagined painting now. Within the above described ecosystem, there seem to be a hierarchical order of networks. First, every object contrasts conspicuously with its drawn quality over a photographed, realistic background, so there is a network of drawn objects linked by eyes. Then, the eyes fall into two groups: those belonging to living organisms and those that are freestanding. The small whites in the freestanding eyes are meant to add a sense of deliberation among them, while the completely black eyes of the two worms signify an empty gaze of lostness. Lastly, the objects are grouped by proximity, into two or three clusters. These subdivisions are unimportant, as they (along with the objects themselves) are trampled by the sidewalk that rolls through the scene. To me this parallels the (un)importance of unity and collectiveness of the symbols in Klee’s painting. No matter how the viewer approaches them they will always remain in one painting, which is self contained by Klee’s intent. Similarly, the sidewalk passing through my scene conveys my impression of video games, which are also self contained - the whole world (as known to the game) already exists within it. The fact that the sidewalk starts and ends off scene alludes to the question of borders and boundaries that Klee concerned himself with. The artist’s intentions in creating his painting informed aspects of my reproduction as well.

Klee believed that “the material world was only one among many realities open to human awareness,” and this mindset is evident in the process through which my reproduction is born out of his painting. Klee was known to explore the language of pictorial symbols and signs, yet my reproduction disregards a great quantity of such symbols. Klee greatly admired the art of children, who seemed to create free of models or previous examples. He brought this inspiration to a refined end in his work, but then my reproduction brings it back cyclically to childish drawing standards.