I recently spent a few legs of travel in airports. People watching has always been a favorite pastime for me. All of the differences, yet similarities to witness. People hurrying, people numb to the noise, the amount of luggage one tries to navigate onto the plane. Such entertainment. Then there is the weird and absurd. Yes, there is always a bit of that to witness, but isn’t that life itself. My creative mind then goes on a magical journey of imagination taking that absurdity on a story.
Life, in all its grandeur and chaos, often takes us on those whimsical journeys, leading us to places we never expected to visit, where the unexpected becomes the norm. And in this circus of existence, let me introduce you to an image that perfectly encapsulates life’s delightful eccentricity—an elephant wearing plaid.
Yes, you read that correctly—an elephant, one of nature’s most majestic creatures, adorned in plaid, that quintessential pattern of contrasting squares. Imagine the sight: an enormous, wrinkled pachyderm sporting a plaid outfit that defies the laws of fashion and reason.
As an abstract artist, I revel in the absurdity of such a vision. It challenges the conventional boundaries of art, just as life often challenges our preconceived notions of normality. It’s a reminder that creativity knows no bounds, that it can emerge in the most unexpected places, just as this elephant defies expectations.
What makes this image so absurdly beautiful is the collision of two worlds that should never meet. Elephants, with their dignified grace, are the epitome of nature’s magnificence. Plaid, on the other hand, is a human invention, a pattern of ordered disorder that we wear on shirts and skirts, designed to stand out amidst the mundane.
But what does it all mean, you may wonder? The absurdity of life, much like our plaid-clad pachyderm, is a reminder that meaning is often a construct, a product of our human desire to impose order on the chaotic canvas of existence. We search for meaning in the patterns we create, just as we seek meaning in the tapestry of life. It’s an invitation to embrace the chaos, to revel in the unexpected, and to celebrate the absurdity that makes life a masterpiece of its own.
So, the next time you encounter the unexpected, like an elephant donning plaid, pause for a moment and savor the absurdity. It’s a gentle reminder that life’s most beautiful moments often arise from the collision of the ordinary and the extraordinary, where art and existence intertwine in the most unexpected and delightful ways.
Art-on my friends
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acrylic on paper
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Art As I See It” is a column by Barbara Mosher In which she provides her insight on the world of art, including thought-inducing commentary, the process of art, and to showcase artists.
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