Monday Murals ~ Girl with Flowers

When I first laid eyes on this mural my niece came to mind and I didn't know why at first. I googled and found the artist's name than emailed him and asked him three questions.   My questions were what was his inspiration, if the painting had a name, and what was the meaning of the blindfold.  The artist is Brady Scott, his links are as follows:

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/bradycreative  

WEB: www.bscottart.com 

The artist says this is a painting of his daughter Emma, and is called "See No Evil".  The medium is  Aerosol on Stucco Wall. Painted live during @habitat 2019 in Tulsa OK.

To delve into why this painting spoke to me I googled painting/art appreciation to see if that might help me figure out why I see my niece in this work.  One site shows a simple way of understanding what you are seeing, the site is theconversation.com, the author is Kit Messham-Muir and the article is "Three simple steps to understand art: look, see, think".  This technique is adapted from an old technique by the art historian Erwin Panofsky. (More here.) My analysis was before I heard back from the artist.

1.) Look -  "So look at what’s there, literally right in front of you. Start with the most basic: what medium or material is it – a photograph, an object, a painting? How does it look? Rough and quick? Slick and neat? Shiny? Dirty? Carefully made? Thrown together?" 

Answer: Street Art, on stucco, spray paint, matt finish, purposeful design and execution.

2.) See -  "What’s the difference between looking and seeing in the context of art? Looking is about literally describing what is in front of you, while seeing is about applying meaning to it. When we see we understand what is seen as symbols, and we interpret what’s there in front of us. 

Erwin Panofsky calls the symbols in an artwork “iconography”, and any image can be easily broken down into the iconography that makes it up."

Answer: The girl is in black and white, the bouquet of flowers are in mixed color and held with purpose as in giving them to someone, the face is expressionless and she can't see because she is blindfolded.

3.) Think -  "The final step involves thinking about what you’ve observed, drawing together what you’ve gleaned from the first two steps and thinking about possible meanings. Importantly, this is a process of interpretation. It’s not a science. It’s not about finding the “right answers”, but about thinking creatively about the most plausible understandings of a work.

The key here is context. The broader context of an artwork will help make sense of what you’ve already observed. Much of the information about context is usually given in those dull little labels that tell you the artist’s name, the title of the work and the year. And there are often other valuable morsels of information included too, such as the place and year an artist was born."

My interpretation:  What I see in this painting is a young woman or girl who doesn't see the real world or herself as it really is. The blindness could be self imposed, or not by her control. She is a giving person and she struggles with finding her way.  

Now that I know the information given by the artist: the title, See No Evil (that says it all), is so important in the understanding and takes my thinking and appreciation in a different direction and probably would have cancelled my seeing my neice. I now see a father's protection of his child or a child's innocence.  

Though, I do prefer my first interpretation because when trying to understand the painting, I learned so much from my niece's story from a different perspective and I see some things clearer.  So I thank you Brady Scott.  A bit of the viewer's life can mingle with an artist's creation to give a greater understanding of your own life or a loved one as it did for me. The arts are to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.  I'm so glad my schooling had the arts and sad for the changes in our public schools that allow the cut backs or omitting art.  See No Evil is one of my favorite murals in Tulsa, OK.

I am sharing this mural on Monday Murals at sami-colourfulworld (here). If you love murals, as I do, please follow the link to see murals around the world.  Use these art appreciation steps (look, see and think) on the mural that speaks to you, it's time well spent!

Enjoy your day!