Tuesday night…Mysteries, Vincent Van Gogh and a nun and the Italians

Okay, so…the Rubber Ducks and I were watching Poirot and Miss Fisher’s Mystery because it is, after all, Tuesday night.   When the programs were over, and while I was waiting for the program on Italian to begin,  a nun, who talks about works of art, came on for a ten minute spot.  Apparently she travels to art museums all over the world and talks about one or two paintings, while sometimes giving bits of info about the artist who painted them.  I wasn’t paying much attention, because I didn’t like the pictures she chose, but then she went to Van Gogh’s museum and I love Vincent.  So she walked up to the painting of his bedroom, in the yellow house in Arles. She then describes what SHE sees and  proceeds to psychoanalyze the painting and Vincent.  The nun said that the painting was one of his favorites.  She said, Vincent had actually said what he was trying to accomplish in this work and what it meant to him

THEN SHE SAID:

“When an artist tells you what he’s doing, don’t believe him.”

She went on to TELL US WHAT THE PICTURE REALLY MEANT.   Obviously, she knew more about Vincent and his painting, than Vincent did.  She was into how the blue doors were both shut, which I thought was pretty funny because if they had been open, or even ajar, the picture would have been more about the door blocking the view than the tiny room itself.  But then the nun would have probably said that Vincent was blocking his reality and refused to look at what was right there in front of him.  Hiding from himself his lonely life (Paul Gaugain was on his way), and the narrowness of his bed.  SEE THAT’S THE THING, WE CAN MAKE UP ANYTHING WE WANT TO AND PRETEND IT’S REAL OR MEANINGFUL.  Doors open, doors closed.  VINCENT IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY.

Now, while I totally believe that each work of art created (no matter the medium) says something different to each person who sees it, when someone tells you not to believe what the artist has said about his/her OWN work…YOU SHOULD WALK AWAY FROM THAT PERSON, as fast as you can, and never look back.  How incredible for her, to say out loud, in front of everyone, that people shouldn’t believe what artists say about their own work!  And yes, she meant that for ALL artists.  Someone should have had one of those old fashion hooks they used to use for live stage acts in the old days, and dragged her away.

Oh, and the Italian program was fine this time:)  The nun, not so much.