Copyright: All artwork/content protected under ©2007-2011 Lynne Ciacco

All content herein copyright © Lynne Ciacco


Sunday, June 12, 2011

Domestica Revealed

I was quite overwhelmed with the wonderful response that my watercolour painting, Domestica (seen in the post below), received over the past few days.  I did my best to respond to your insightful comments but would like also to offer up my own interpretation of the painting.

What I think is the most fascinating aspect of art is that every viewer brings his or her own meaning/point of view/life experience/emotional state/belief system to it, to say nothing of their preference for colours, style, etc., thus making many stories of what seems to be just one.

For what it's worth, here is my own interpretation of the watecolour that appeared before me:
  • Red of her dress: first chakra/roots/tribal connection
  • Purple of her dress: highest chakra/spirituality. So her emphasis is on the tribal and spiritual aspects of a marriage.
  • Yellow of his shirt: third chakra/power
  • Blue pants: 5thchakra/self-expression. But as it's the colour of his pants, this self-expression is not in the proper place (!)--which should be at the throat level
  • Feet:: The joined feet show that they have been continuing along a path together for some time, in synch.  The male's free foot, however, is heading away from the couple position, seeking an individual path while the woman is still trying to keep them together on the same path
  • Orange chair/Green leaves/White lilies:
  • -orange: 2nd chakra/sexuality/creativity
  • -green: 4th chakra: heart/love-
  • white: purity-
  • Note:  these traits are outside of themselves.   Though carefully tended and well-cared for, they have not been integrated into either partner's psyche.
  • Arms:  Their right arms are in the same position, bent facing the same way, nearly identical, thus having similar goals/tasks. The man's left arm is disproportionately long--reaching out to create or grab something beyond the relationship, while her left arm is trying to keep him bound to the couple dynamic. 
  • Black cat: This could represent a shadow self; an aspect of their psyches that is dark and mostly hidden to them that needs to be brought out and looked at because it keeps tripping them up.
So there you go.

2 comments:

  1. Bravo! You certainly have these concepts well integrated to be able to use them in your art like this.

    While I did not take the time to contemplate all the chakra colours, I did notice how all the males extremities (except one) and even his body, to a degree, were leaning/pointing away from the woman.


    There is so much we can learn about family relationships by looking at old photographs and noting where people stand in relation to each other, where they are looking - where there extremities are pointing.

    I really enjoyed this. :)

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  2. Bonnie,
    I'm so pleased you took the time to read this explanation. I, too, love to look at old family photos (anyone's) and wonder about the relationships of the people in them. I have a stack of them stashed away that I hope to get to some day to use in my art work, in one way or another. So many ideas, so little discipline!

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