2. What is a piece of art that you have, or would love to have, hanging on your wall or sitting in your house?
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I know this may seem an odd choice for the Gauntlet for a steadfast Atheist like myself, but I have my reasons. And no, it isn't for Adam's tiny unit. 😂
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When I was in Art History in College, this was one of the works that we discussed and it opened up a whole philosophy in life for me around the concept of "Negative Space," which I will get to in a minute. First, let's talk about the obvious religious meaning to Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam."
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It is iconic in the world of Christianity, and the fresco adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I have been there and stood underneath it, looking up at it in person. It is one of the greatest works of Michelangelo and he was considered one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. This work shows the divine moment when God gives Adam the Gift of Life. It holds that this is the symbolic representation of the beginning of humankind. As it is described in the Christian Bible, in the Book of Genesis:
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”"
The spark of life. The moment we came to be, according to the Bible. That's pretty iconic.
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Some dig deeper and point out that the image as God is represented, looks strikingly like Michelangelo's understanding of the human brain.
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God's reach comes from the part of the brain where we get our creativity and intellect, so the argument goes that this is not the moment that God created man, but rather the moment that humankind achieved intellect. The gift of artistic and academic ability. The moment when humans gained higher understanding of the world and universe.
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Now, that is the religious side of things. And it is certainly intriguing, but what really caught me with this, was this particular part:
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I actually had a print of this in my house, but it was ruined in a flooding.
I refer to this as "The most famous negative space of all time." Because that space, that lack of actual contact raises so many questions: "Did God just finish touching Adam and is that why he looks dreamy. Is he overwhelmed?" or "Is God about to touch Adam and Adam is still just a dumb animal at this point?" or "Is that as close as God can get to a human before it overwhelms them?" And so many more questions. That single, empty space has inspired more ideas and philosophies than just about any piece of art, music, movie, story ever could. It is debated and researched and pondered by people all over the world.
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More importantly, it helped me see the negative space, the emptiness, as an important concept in our world around us. Consider that a song suddenly stops before kicking back in to the music, and how alive you feel in that moment. That you measure the place you live by how you can move around in it, or fit more things. The heavy moment of silence in the moment just before you find release in a sexual encounter. The dead calm quiet you experience in the moments when you are amped up on adrenaline during a dangerous situation. The empty miles between you and your loved ones around the world. The desire to quiet the thoughts and feelings you have when you are struggling with mental health. What is loneliness but negative space? The last exhale before the gunshot. The middle of the hurricane. The pause before the punchline. Everything involves that negative space, that emptiness. You can't have substance without the emptiness to fill.
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What is important in life, is how you choose to fill that space. Do you watch a show? Listen to a song? Read a book? Garden? Talk to friends? Play a game? And so on. We are built by the ways we choose to fill the negative space. To me, that's a beautiful thought.
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Thank you for reading. If you want to see my other entries, you can find them here:
Topic 1 - One of your Favourite Songs
Topic 3 - Comfort movies or series
Topic 7 - Favourite Simple Meal
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@missy @penny @kyrie @vaega
