Aesthete & Amateur 7, part 3: Art of Liz Lemondrop

Heavy: “Finally something I can understand—impressionist artist— or expressionist?”

Eleanor: “Neither—this is representational. The more like Hopper these get, the better. The strongest ones have the most mystery.”

Heavy: “This is art I can have on our walls—we both like Hopper. Let’s sort these pieces. Which one you like least and which one do you like best?”

Eleanor: “Three on the top row have the most powerful compositions— the one with the oval window, the waitress, and the one with the dog. They also seem better rendered.”

Heavy: “But the rule is to pick ONE you think is the best. I invented the game so we play on my rules.”

Eleanor: “They are all solitary figures looking out windows. They seem to be dreaming or thinking about some- where other than where they are. Of those three, I like the one with the dog emotionally, but the one with the oval visually.”

Heavy: “You just can’t follow simple rules huh?”

Eleanor: “Um—Ok. I like the one with the oval the best. How about you??”

Heavy: “The one with the waitress is my favorite—maybe because I like having drinks in clubs and restaurants?”

Eleanor: “Oh? That one is the most like Hopper. Of course, I see the influence of Degas in many others.”

Heavy: “There is so much in that painting—color, light, shadow, expression, mystery. But the name ‘Reservations’ should be ‘Waitress’ because she is the painiting’s center subject. She has a moment to pause, to think about other things—maybe her kids left at home, etc. But the moment will be disrupted when the door opens, and a new customer comes inside—see the shadow behind the door? Then she will come to life, greeting the customer.”

Eleanor: “Her anticipation is not with joy. She seems receptive—not aggressive. Her hands are clasped nervously and the strong yellow gives anxiety.”

Heavy: “No, she waits with professionalism. She takes work seriously, but she has feelings and thoughts and responsibilities. Another story is that it can be the prince charming who will rescue her. The composition gives so many choices.”

Eleanor: “The woman in the window with the dog will be interrupted too. She dreams of traveling, but is held by love of home, symbolized by the dog.”

Heavy: “It is raining outside, she is bored. Her dog is sad too because he knows there won’t be any afternoon trip today.”

Eleanor: “The title is ‘Unexpected Visitors,’ so the car must be coming to her. Well, my favorite is still the oval window. Here, the emphasis is less on the figure, more abstract. We can’t really see her face.”

Heavy: “But she can sit there forever. There is no anticipation or element of surprise.”

Eleanor: “No one will interrupt her. The room she is in seems impoverished.”

Heavy: “It looks like a prison cell.”

Eleanor: “The mystery is that the bed is a frame with no mattress, and the building is up high, based on her view. She longs to be out there and not where she is.”

Heavy: “But also can it be an attic with old stuff that brings memories. That’s why she is daydreaming. Maybe is her room where she has grow up.”

Eleanor: “Attic feels right. There is what looks like a blanket at her feet. The oval and the size of the window makes me think of a port hole.”

Heavy: “Which do you think is the weakest?”

Eleanor: “Well, I am looking at the wall with the bird nest on it—and here, I find the upper right one of the couple, the woman on the beach, and the tree to be weakest. I bet you like the ones with the cocktail glasses.”

Heavy: “They are good for display in a vintage club or ads for travel agencies or covers for a restaurant menu. I agree that the weakest is the tree— ‘Eucalyptus.’”

Eleanor: “Contrast it with the bird nest, which is strong. What is the difference?”

Heavy: “The colors are faded and that branch in front is aggressive compared with the rest of the composition.

Eleanor: “It does lack contrast— all shapes are small, nothing dominant. The nest is bold with a contrast of sizes. The background is interesting without distracting.”

Heavy: “The blue eggs connect with the blue sky—earth to sky. That tree branch links those two elements—and the mix of them will give life. Pretty Biblical idea— God created from dirt—is the miracle of life—sky (God) and dirt (tree branch).”

Eleanor: “Liza’s best work has positive energy without being cute. But some of the images, like the clowns, seem commercial, even sweet— like Hallmark greeting cards.”

Heavy: “The clowns invite you to Venice— they have a three-day masked parade there—an old tradition. I was there once during that parade and is total madness.”

Eleanor: “We do have a fundamental disagreement. Although I enjoy seeing what can be uploaded, I prefer art in SL that uses SL somehow.”

Heavy: “I prefer art anybody can understand—art that tells a story. I don’t care where is created as long I like it.”

Eleanor: “Good point—however, I think you like art where one piece tells many stories. If a piece only tells one story, then you see it once, and you are done.”

Heavy: “Yes. Art to me is like a poem. You know how well great poets twist words in lyrics?”

Eleanor: “They often use lyrics that have more than one meaning.”

Heavy: “Art needs to make me think and feel.”

Eleanor: “Art needs to be visually intriguing for me.”

Heavy: “Even for a college graduate in art, it is hard to explain what is art and what isn’t. I can listen and enjoy many genres of music. But some music you need to collect. You want to have it in hand so you can listen anytime.”

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