Turchenko on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/turchenko/art/A-fickle-language-109429206Turchenko

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A fickle language.

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What exactly does it mean to Speak Visual? More importantly, is it even possible. Can verbal language ever truly replace visual art? I personally believe that it can’t, but it can come pretty damn close.

Imagine, for a second, that you are tasked with describing a painting to blind man. How would you proceed? Would you proceed at all? Do you honestly believe that any amount of descriptive language could possibly convey the experience of a work of visual art? Sure, you could tell him all about the mountains in the background, the wide-ranging color palette, the unique textures, or the composition, but what would it all mean? The person would have a general idea of what was going on in the painting, but what about the true value of the picture? What about the emotional connotations associated with the painting? You can’t just say, “the warm colors and the composition create a feeling of contentment”, you can’t just tell him how to feel, that job is reserved for the painting.

To truly ‘Speak Visual’ is probably beyond the realm of human possibility. It would take a very poetic, emotional description to fully convey the feelings that a painting brings about. Perhaps one day, verbal language will evolve to the point where anything can be conveyed through speech, even visual art.

Speaking visually can go beyond that definition, though. Art itself is a form of language, a form of conveying knowledge and emotion among human beings. To speak visually is to take that hidden language and use it; to spread your ideas, your emotions, or simply your thoughts, in ways that other forms of language couldn’t do.

Does my piece accomplish that? Who knows? Art is a fickle language. Maybe I never knew exactly what message, idea, or emotion I was trying to convey through my art, maybe it all happened subconsciously. Maybe those ideas will manifest themselves in different ways among different people. As such, to truly Speak Visual is nearly an impossible task. People can react to the same work of art in vastly different ways; they might feel different emotions, they might develop different ideas. No other form of language is this subjective, and to try to verbally describe a work of art will rob it of its true meaning. As such, it’s often better to just step aside and let the art do the talking.
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