Why does something inside us always want to know the secret? Want to be in on the joke?
I'm exploring this idea and how it relates to words and images. Can a description of someone or something let us in on a secret better than a painting or visa versa? Do we like knowing the whole story or do we like inventing some of it? Can a portrait tell more about a person than a description of her? Why do we instinctively like this voyeuristic view? This private scene?
Every person has so much to him or her. Every moment of our lives that we share with someone, that we keep to ourselves, every fall, every cry, every laugh, every memory. We each have our own and so many of them. Can a painting shed light upon all that, or could writing do so better? Which gives more? Which is more satisfying and why?
QUESTION: what do you think? Does a painting offer more than words can? Is a picture worth 1000 words? If so, why? Which do you prefer, reading something and creating an image (or movie) in your mind from it, OR looking at a picture/painting and creating a story for it?
I agree that much of art is about secrets, about our desire to know others secrets, but not to know everything, because then there would be nothing to figure out. I often find that the books and paintings I love best are the ones that I nearly understand, that have nearly revealed all their secrets, that have nearly explained the world and humankind and everything, but that leave me a little confused. Perhaps this is because all they've really done is tell me enough that I know there are more secrets, and wanting to know more secrets makes me curious, and want to read and think and look more. I'd say writing often reveals more, but also leads to more questions. Because painting is usually a snapshot, we don't feel like there are right answers, and are allowed to speculate. On the other hand, understanding one moment fully could let us in on more secrets than vaguely understanding a whole story, and in this way painting could reveal more.
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