Being a "closet" artist myself, I found the problems facing Owen Warland in Hawthorne's Artist of the Beautiful, relatable. I know artists have anxiety when they present their work to people. I understand an artist's insecurities-not knowing whether viewers will appreciate a piece. However, an artist must keep in mind that art is subjective. Not all people like all artwork.
In Owens case, no one liked any of his artwork. Even after five years of pouring his soul into making a butterfly, no one saw its beauty. Robert Danforth the blacksmith calls Owen's time "wasted." saying "there is more real use in one downright blow of my sledge-hammer." 1146 It was Danforth's infant son who destroyed Owen's masterpiece. Even though his work seemed ruined and unappreciated, Owen was proud of himself.
He "rose high enough to achieve the Beautiful, the symbol by which he made it
perceptible to mortal senses became of little value in his eyes, while his
spirit possessed itself in the enjoyment of Reality." 1147
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment