There is a general rule that says that an artist should always have something to say about their artwork. According to this rule, we should prepare and know our artworks’ description from the very beginning.
I did not have such a description until recently. For the period between October 2015 and the beginning of April 2018 (Easter), I did not know why I make pictures on Warsaw’s streets. In general, photography was and still is super fun for me. I did not have an idea of why I make this thought-provoking and unique photography. Why not portraits? Why not landscapes? Or why there are sadness and loneliness in these images?
But, thanks to a chat with my lovely girlfriend, Kamila, while driving back to Warsaw from my hometown (Brok), I already know why I do a lot of pictures. The case about which David Hockney said that people possess primal desire to transform surrounding our reality to the artwork (like paintings or photographs) is not only the case. In my case, there is something more. It is a very intimate story. I will provide you, my Dear Guest, details in the future. Now, I want to focus on other artists.
Other artists also had the same problems with adding a description to their artworks. One of the examples could Zdzislaw Beksinski.
A famous Polish painter was continually refused to comment and explain his paintings. Beksinski said that his artworks visualize his thoughts, of his inner imagination which came to his mind. He was transforming the almost mystic and creepy sparks of his spiritual vision into the paintings. But, the Polish painter avoided adding anything more to the description of his artworks. Moreover, he did not want to accept or refuse any comment and explanations added by critics to his paintings.
Also, Salvador Dali sometimes could not describe his artwork. One of the examples could be “The Enigma of Hitler” painting. He admitted that he did not know what this artwork meant. He also added that it was presumably a transcription of his dreams, which he had after the Munich Agreement in 1938.
Another example of continually looking for the description of the paintings was Vassily Kandinsky. It took him years to prepare a final version of the story to his artworks.
As we can see, the creative process is often ambiguous. Artists often first create, and later on, they add some description to their artwork. If you also take pictures but do not know why you do it, do not blame yourself. Give yourself time. Create, relax, ask questions, and let the flow of creation stay with you as long as possible.
