Symbols and symbolic meanings in the art of Anna Slonim
Painting is the world of the subconscious and somewhere even unconscious. The subconscious speaks to us with symbols, and with creative people, such as artists and artists, in particular. But the world of the unconscious is not always clear even to the artist himself, because often they cannot explain why, for example, a cut lemon, rather than an orange, suddenly appeared in the picture.
– Well, lemon and lemon, so I dreamed, – they usually answer.
It was something they saw, but, well, what did it “see” in our conscious, physical world? And what is it all about?
Art articles.
Consider for example the work of the American-Russian artist, Anna Slonim.
The most frequently repeated elements in her paintings are hats, gloves, an umbrella and a cigar. With the exception of a cigar, all things are cloakrooms. It should be noted that these wardrobe items appear in the pictures of Anna even when they depict women in nude or semi-nude. It would seem, why a nude woman with an umbrella or gloves? What a whim is this? Many may think that this is something of a fetishism. But not in fetishism case. The point is the symbolic meaning of these objects.
An umbrella is not only rain protection and a beautiful accessory, it is also a protection, a barrier, a cover, and in closed form – a secret, a secret. A nude or half-naked woman with an umbrella hides a secret and, at the same time, protects herself from the outside world. A world that may be very unfavorable to her secret.
And what if the woman in the picture hands, holding an umbrella, wearing gloves, either black or white, or one is dressed in black and the other in white? Since the hands, their shape and size, speak about the feelings and emotions of a person, then if they are wearing gloves, and the rest of the body is naked or half naked, then such a woman most likely wants to hide her feelings and emotions. The length of the glove — wrist or elbow — is the degree of stealth. The longer the gloves, the more secrets.
The black color of gloves can be interpreted as feminine – начало yin ’, and white as masculine -‘ yang ’. The woman either covers her own emotions, or the feelings of the man he feels for her. Well, the presence of both black and white gloves indicates the duality of human nature – its female and male qualities, emotions and feelings – the presence of light and darkness, day and night, sun and moon, heat and cold in all of us.
A hat is no less intriguing element of ‘camouflage’. Here the range of shapes, colors and materials is wider and richer. From small hats, to knitted long ones, like those of dwarves, to wide-brimmed or neat ones, sitting like that pie on their heads, to huge exotic flowers and even leaves of plants.
Hat, hat, cap – a headdress covering or completely covering the hair of a woman. And a woman’s hair is a matter of admiration and admiration. For a man, it’s also a kind of ‘fabric’ of a woman that embodies the dream of her, and for a woman herself her own dreams and dreams. Putting on her hat, a woman removes this “fabric” from sight, again, hides her, and there is no possibility to learn about her dreams and admire them. But the shape, color of the hat, and jewelry on it may hint at these dreams.
For example, a woman is wearing a black hat with a red ribbon – her secret passion. Or a black kettle with a rose is a man’s secret passion for her. Or a red hat with a gold ribbon is a passionate nature with a strong personality. Or funny knitted hat, like a gnome, with a pompon – schoolgirl childhood dreams.
Flowers on a hat can mean tenderness or desire to express it or make a declaration of love. The veil on the hat is always a mystery. Well, what man will not be fascinated by the mystery?
And strange closeness chained,
I look behind the dark veil,
And I see the coast enchanted
And enchanted distance.
Deaf secrets are entrusted to me,
Someone handed me a sun
And all the souls of my bend
Pierced tart wine.
– The Stranger, Alexander Blok
As for the presence of such a mysterious woman in the hands of a cigar, then this symbol of power, masculinity and sensuality, may indicate the presence in the woman’s life of such a man. Passionate courageous and sensual, and, perhaps, domineering too. In addition, the cigar is also a symbol of wealth and luxury. It can be a luxury literally or figuratively, in the sense of a luxury of feelings.
Next time, looking at the pictures, look at whether there are hats, gloves, umbrellas, cigars and flowers on them. Their combinations and combinations can tell you a lot.
Feel free to turn on your imagination!
