ART ENTHUSIAST

         Sister Wendy showed keen interest in art history and later in 1980 went on to pursue it.Works of Jackson Pollock,Willem  de kooning,Mark Rothko,to name a few held her spellbound.The story behind every brush stroke piqued her curiosity.She wanted to know everything that there was to know about their life,which is quite evident from her childlike enthusiasm.Though she claims of not having a creative bone,she sure doesn't miss to spot a beautiful painting.So hop on whilst Sister Wendy takes us through the journey of different art periods.

           First in line is Jackson Pollock.He speaks through colours and the flow of the lines.Most of his art work centers around drip painting.The reason why he refuses to paint using a brush is because of his dislike to keep the strokes in check. He lets out all his frustrations and deep angst in those strokes,and drip painting enables him to do so instead of mapping them out with a brush,but at the same time having control over the strokes to create the right picture.The process of painting was something personal to Jackson but when it was documented he might have felt naked in front of the entire world since the only close thing to him was yanked away not to mention the pressure of constant need to keep up his reputation to meet peoples expectations might have driven him to complete madness resulting in dark drawings and ultimately death.

        Sister Wendy describes pop art as something which an artist sees or does but not feels and in turn incorporates it into an art work.To me art is centered around the artist's life,it expresses what he or she feels,so to say pop art lacks emotion is a contradiction.In Andy Warhol's depiction of Marilyn Monroe,from afar every frame or chapter of Marilyn's life looks normal but if you look closely its anything but dazzling. The expressions are contrasting in every frame as if portraying her journey through life,but being in the public eye she has to put on a different persona.First frames have colours to it but as we move forward all the life is drained out of her and nothing but a faded photograph is left.

        Minimalism is a challenge since our minds are always immersed in chaos. To convey a message or even express through a few lines,colours needs discipline.Agnes martin painted the feeling of being in nature and not nature itself  the painting was pleasant to look at, it created a feeling of calmness. The light pastel colour the smoothness of texture and the geometry of lines could construct something so simple but still visually appealing is mesmerizing.Nature if we look at it is very vibrant but Agnes hit a home run in capturing the peacefulness of being in nature.

       Sister Wendy was able to analyze said artists work since she studied about their life in depth, questions of 'whys' and 'hows' dissolved because of her knowledge.It's a wonder how she manages to notice minute details. when you see a picture, the shapes that catch your attention are different for everyone,the colours bring you happiness,grief or any possible emotion or just suck you into the picture. Sister Wendy urges us to notice these minute things,the brush strokes, drip of the paint, that invoke emotions within us possibly unknown to us but still present which in turn leads us to appriciate a painting. Thus proving that an amature can have a certain understanding of art as well, even with lack of any artistic background. 

         Throughout the documentary she urges people to look at paintings more closely,to inspect every stroke, material, colour, small details that we almost miss to notice. She is a living proof that amatures can too appreciate paintings and that they don't need a certificate to understand art.Being a nun herself she doesn't shy away from paintings which normally would have been condemned in church more so her open minded attitude gives hope to bridge the gap between religion and art.

                                                            REFERENCE

Sister wendy. ( Jan 13, 2015) Documentary film. [online] Youtube. Available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFO3_Vj817A

[Accessed: 7th august,2015]