More+of+Life's+Ironies

=Activity 5:= = More of Life's Ironies =

//Les Promenades D’Euclide// by Rene Magritte (1955)

1. Observing the Artwork:

 * ====Look carefully at Magritte’s painting. What do you see? Name some of the objects in the painting and describe what you think is being depicted along with the time and place. Provide some rationale for your responses.====
 * **Quilt rack, top of castle, curtains, city, window clasp, ledge of window, baseboard, trees, greenery, clouds, picture within the window, easel holding the painting of the castle/city**
 * **The individual painted the piece, making her own environment/atmosphere in hopes of that being outside her window. She could be a princess wishing to see what is beyond her window/home (seeing what others see into her window) -- In this decade, the painting represents what the city might have looked like, or the fairytale of what it used to be - the demolition of the fairytale, with the right and left showing the reality (foggy, hazy).**
 * **WWII, England/Europe**

2. Looking Again, Thinking Critically with your Small Group Members:

 * ====What effect does the Magritte’s painting create? What does it imply about the interplay between art and life? About the artist’s role in society?====
 * **It implies the harshness of life -- a fantasy of his/her life; depicts how closely related fantasy and real life are; illusion vs. reality; things aren't always what they first seem at first**
 * **Artist sees herself above society, or outside of reality because she cannot face the reality**
 * ====In some ways, the painting presents the age-old problem of illusion versus reality. In this picture within a picture, the canvas in front of the window seems to exactly replicate the section of city it blocks from view. But does it? Could the twin forms of tower and street exist only in the artist's imagination? Or do we view the actual city through a transparent canvas?====
 * **Yes, it does replicate the city of the window view, but we also wonder if it shows the artist's perception of ignoring the reality of life to accommodate for the fantasy society wishes to believe.**

//Responses://