The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci reached its artistic completion in 1517. Access to the painting was limited to the gilded halls of the palace belonging to King Francis I upon his purchase until ownership slowly trickled down to the Louvre where the famed work currently draws thousands of art/history/curious enthusiasts a year.
I remember standing in line at the Louvre on a hot, sticky July in 2010 yearning to catch a glimpse of the iconic work. A massive crowd was furiously clicking away at the gilded painting and my desire to stand quietly and contemplate the intricacies of DaVinci's painting was a futile dream.
A girl behind me huffed, “We waited in line for this?! It's much bigger on my poster at home.”
I remember feeling flabbergasted that someone would dare to say such a thing. Merely being in the presence of such renowned art work was a pleasure in itself ... however, she was right in her own way. I'm sure her poster at home looked exactly like DaVinci's painting, that she could spare pockets of time to dwell on the use of colour, the tint of the secret smile and other precious details that we standing right in front of the painting could not.
The Mona Lisa has evolved from a half-length portrait to plastic cellphone covers, life size posters, tiny magnets, laminated bookmarks, ambitious knock-offs, wooden coasters, lighters, shot glasses, bags and it goes on and on. There are hundreds of ways to experience the Mona Lisa beyond a framed physical painting. The representation of the Mona Lisa is far more accessible now than it ever could be. Does the meaning get lost in the various methods of representation? Possibly. But each person experiences art differently and not everyone is able to travel through the glass doors of the Louvre (and like that afore mentioned girl, some don't see the point when they can access the works much closer to home).
Like books that are now iBooks and read on iPads and Kindles, do we lose more than we gain from accessing them in a different manner? Yes, we can't hear the rustle of paper but we can increase the text size and change the font. There will be always be pros and cons when artifacts such as books, paintings and music are transformed and represented in a new light, but I feel the pros will always outweigh the cons as they are far more accessible to a larger audience and can be enjoyed in new ways.
~Fareh
Below is a picture I took of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and the madding crowd who had come to see her.
I remember standing in line at the Louvre on a hot, sticky July in 2010 yearning to catch a glimpse of the iconic work. A massive crowd was furiously clicking away at the gilded painting and my desire to stand quietly and contemplate the intricacies of DaVinci's painting was a futile dream.
A girl behind me huffed, “We waited in line for this?! It's much bigger on my poster at home.”
I remember feeling flabbergasted that someone would dare to say such a thing. Merely being in the presence of such renowned art work was a pleasure in itself ... however, she was right in her own way. I'm sure her poster at home looked exactly like DaVinci's painting, that she could spare pockets of time to dwell on the use of colour, the tint of the secret smile and other precious details that we standing right in front of the painting could not.
The Mona Lisa has evolved from a half-length portrait to plastic cellphone covers, life size posters, tiny magnets, laminated bookmarks, ambitious knock-offs, wooden coasters, lighters, shot glasses, bags and it goes on and on. There are hundreds of ways to experience the Mona Lisa beyond a framed physical painting. The representation of the Mona Lisa is far more accessible now than it ever could be. Does the meaning get lost in the various methods of representation? Possibly. But each person experiences art differently and not everyone is able to travel through the glass doors of the Louvre (and like that afore mentioned girl, some don't see the point when they can access the works much closer to home).
Like books that are now iBooks and read on iPads and Kindles, do we lose more than we gain from accessing them in a different manner? Yes, we can't hear the rustle of paper but we can increase the text size and change the font. There will be always be pros and cons when artifacts such as books, paintings and music are transformed and represented in a new light, but I feel the pros will always outweigh the cons as they are far more accessible to a larger audience and can be enjoyed in new ways.
~Fareh
Below is a picture I took of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and the madding crowd who had come to see her.
Great post! I ponder this idea sometimes as well - in saving time and energy we often look for more accessible alternatives. In the example of the Mona Lisa, I can't decide which would be better since I am not a huge fan of the peice. However, for a Van Gogh or Picasso, I could never be satisfied with a reproduction or a print copy. Though I may be able to glance at every stroke and crease, what the reproduction represents is not what the symbiotic with the original masterpiece. The sensations of appreciating art, I believe, are different from viewing an alternative. Much like reading a classic book - holding and feeling the pages means more to me in the experience of the book and how the author intended it to be read.
ReplyDelete