Back before media of any kind existed–think past SOCIAL media here–before tv, radio, I’m talking pantaloon wearing horse and buggy era–landscape paintings were a visual escape. An image of a serene landscape with gentle breezes, far removed from the dreary toil and stench (horses remember) of everday life. I am talking about the merchant class , peasants couldn’t get away from stench, and the aristocracy had little toil and could probably frolic in the landscape whenever. So, the middle class escape–most of us right?
We escape the confines of our everday life by surfing the net searching out hot vacation deals in hot locations that we can’t afford, chatting with friends on facebook, watching horrifyingly embarrassing videos of fools on YouTube. We look at images and grasp at stress releases through media everyday.
Landscape paintings can say many things through color, imagery, perspective. I encourage you to take a look at the “Landscapes” show at the Art Access Gallery on Drexel Ave. in Bexley. The show opens on January 7, runs to through Feb 3, and features works by Richard Clem, Valerie Craig, Andy Reed, Diane Young and Kim Zarney. Check out: artaccessgallery.com
Art can still take us away from our dreary everyday, open our eyes to new ideas, encourage us to breathe a little deeper and reflect–we don’t allow much of that with all the opportunities to distract ourselves on a daily basis.
We need art as much as the pantaloon wearing folk did. As a way to pause, look at and reflect on something visual that is without a hash tag and outside our “daily landscape”.
place to hang art 