Landscape as the Mirror of the Soul

‘Misteltoe 2’
Part of a diptych
Medium Size Oil on Canvas
65 x 54 cm (approx 21 x 26 inches)
© adam cope

‘Meaning’ is often conferred to the landscape by us humans. Certainly, us artists find ‘meaning’…. us image makers, who weave our lives in & out of both inner & outer worlds, trying to mesh them together into images. When image becomes ‘Image’. Landscape as the mirror of the Soul.Van Gogh’s letters show him finding ‘meaning’ in the stars. Mondrian’s early landscapes are visible expressions of his search for Theosophical meaning in the world. Do we look for something that doesn’t exist ? Doesn’t exist outside of our imaginations? Outside of our busy mental lives?

Maybe the artist should stay silent about his images. Leave the interpretation to the onlooker.

The artists’ vision arises at the same time as she finds meaning… there are so many technically perfect paintings of landscapes but they don’t speak to me of the mirror of the soul, nor particularly much about the place, the lanscape either. I feel taht the artist has taken herself to much out of the equation & her visionis diminished.

 

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.” – Rumi

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley