Art That Makes Me Uncomfortable
In his book How To Be An Artist, Jerry Saltz suggests to list three artists whose work makes you feel uncomfortable and then list three reasons why you are uncomfortable. Fine, I’ll bite. I’ll do the exercise. I will write about one of those examples in this blog post.
The artist Egon Schiele’s work makes me uncomfortable. It is unflinching, honest, naked, and depressing.
One reason that this makes me uncomfortable is that I am trying very hard to be less depressed these days. I want a sunny disposition and Egon Schiele did not have one of those.
In the past, I also surrounded myself with depressed people and slowly became depressed myself. I reflexively want to turn away from people like Schiele who focus on the sadness of life -or I want to look momentarily at it but not dwell. I feel Schiele’s mental turmoil when I look at his paintings and I don’t want to. The depression, distortion, and color schemes of his paintings are what make me uncomfortable.
Art That Makes Me Laugh
Instead, I want to tend toward an artist like Roy Lichtenstein. His works are often funny, light-hearted, and irreverential. He is often exaggerating concepts to make fun of someone or something. I get his point without becoming depressed. I feel like I am in on the joke whereas with Schiele, I feel like he (and I) are the joke.
Art & Therapy Are Honest Subjects
During my year-long journey of self-improvement, I have had to look at myself and my life circumstances honestly. This can be tough. Art and therapy are two very honest subjects. There isn’t much room to hide.
What I like about Roy Lichtenstein is that he is honest but often unserious (whereas Schiele is incredibly honest and serious). Lichtenstein makes his point but with an inflection of humor. He doesn’t get lost in the despair.
There is value in both perspectives and I oscillate between the mentalities of Schiele and Lichtenstein. Sometimes I am able to laugh at myself and the world, sometimes I am not. Either way, through depression or laughter I want to be honest. I want to lose any emotional distortion I have at seeing myself or the world better or worse off than it actually is.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on Apr. 30, 2025)
The books & artists featured in this post can be found at the following links:
- How To Be An Artist by Jerry Saltz → https://amzn.to/3J79CbK
- Egon Schiele: Eros and Passion by Klaus Albrecht Schröder → https://amzn.to/4px70TD
- Roy Lichtenstein by Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Gunhild Bauer → https://amzn.to/49IEp9j
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