my art stories: part two
in the ethnological museum, berlin-dahlem.
i imagine:
the wise man chose to make his second jug the same shape as the first.
again, it is a symbol of sublimation as the way through life.
this time, he has used black. solid black.
black is the sum of all colours and all possibilities. while white is the beginning, black is the essence, space in concentrated form. it is the sum of all stories and all strokes of the pen and the brush, condensed into a single, solid black.
for the wise man, this jug was about harmony (between people, in society) that exists beyond individual life stories.
the left side of the jug is smooth.
it is a restrained, pliant existence. edgeless, it can enter into social interactions and nurture them.
on the right we can see unbridled urges, raw impulses, the jagged outcrops of individuality.
only the perfectly balanced interaction of one side with the other (they are both exactly the same size), interlocked and overlapping, ensures the stability of the jug, i.e. of life and its progress, which was also the theme of the first jug.
alone, neither side would constitute a jug. together, they complete and nurture one another.
the wise man’s one true love was again delighted by her gift. she found the jug’s aesthetic at once exciting and exquisitely beautiful.
the smooth side of the jug flattered the tips of her fingers, the jagged edges set her imagination alight. she made the jug a vessel for a rare lotus flower schnapps that she would use to moisten her lips during intimate engagements.
the wise man knew of his beloved’s secret and was enchanted by its effect.