CAN A PAINTING MAKE YOU CRY?

Posted on February 17, 2008 by Philip

CAN A PAINTING MAKE YOU CRY? Laurence Grenier in the video I linked to yesterday says that she had asked about 150 people the question I raised yesterday: why do you like your favorite paintings? Only Laurence phrases the question differently than I remembered because I think she was interested in a slightly different question. Some people answered, as Mary Jane and I did, in terms of the characteristics of the paintings we liked (Laurence mentions the person who was was drawn to paintings with an open window). But Laurence was interested in how you know that you like a painting. She was struck by the people she had found –and she did find some–who had a physical reaction to certain paintings. One heard the sound of a bell before one painting. Another cried.

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4 Responses to CAN A PAINTING MAKE YOU CRY?

  1. Nick says:
    February 19, 2008 at 10:27 AM

    I don’t know about cry, it seems a little much, and I like to think that I have seen quite a bit of the best paintings in history. I will say I have gotten tingles though.

  2. Annalisa says:
    February 19, 2008 at 7:18 PM

    I definitely get the tingles too!

    When Dad posed this question to me, I didn’t have to think long before I said my favorite paintings tend to embody passion. Not physical or romantic passion, mind you, but some sort of strong emotion or striking gesture. In retrospect, this isn’t entirely fair because some of my favorite paintings are quiet paintings. I also love Mom and Dad’s answers. I have a terrible time choosing one single reason why I love my favorite paintings.

  3. Philip says:
    February 19, 2008 at 11:47 PM

    I think a tingle counts as a physical reaction.

  4. Pingback: IS PRETTINESS IN ART BAD? | Pater Familias

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