I’m currently in the countryside of the US, and that’s where I belong to(o). There’s definitely more art in the US-cities; they are leading art cities, anyway. But artists often get inspired by nature and the countryside, and so they enjoy their roots.
And don’t be arrogant: Your beef doesn’t come from a cow standing on 5th Avenue.
A lot of art wouldn’t be possible, wouldn’t have such an impact if we only focus on the cities. So, let’s dive deeper, be inspired, be entertained, and be in awe of all that the countryside makes possible.
Nature does not need us as human beings, but as human beings, we need nature, maybe more today than ever before.
Let’s look at Georgia O’Keeffe, who is named as one of the greatest female modern artists in the US. There’s an article about her in the upcoming October issue of the magazine ‚Cowboys & Indians.‘
To be honest, it’s not the only article about art in this magazine, but let’s focus on Georgia O’Keeffe’s New Mexico.
Georgia, it is written, traded her home in New York City for a life of solitude in New Mexico properties. She’s called someone who’s synonymous with New Mexico. And, sad but true for others, if most female artists had to suffer from not getting attention in her period of time, she did. Georgia became very successful during her lifetime.
The US-American artist was married to the German photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who broke her heart so badly that she went into the desert and developed a completely new style of painting. While she was famous for her outstanding close-ups of blossoms, often compared to the female genital area, her paintings in the desert started to be less colorful, with some small flowers in a corner of the painting, maybe, or on top, but much more brown, dry, and filled with death and skulls.
Instead of close-ups of a flower, there were close-ups of the walls of a house, the door as a black rectangle. And back to the desert ground: Sometimes a river runs through it, so hopeful and refreshing as hell as well. But, stop! it’s not a river or a creek; the painting’s called ‚Road to the Ranch.‘
And there the question appears: Did Georgia find her way back to her old style someday again?
The counter question should be:
Have you ever lived on a ranch?
Is there a reason to leave?
And if it makes you this happy, more happiness should be found in her later artwork for sure, if not, in her heart anyway.
So, leave me alone.
