Ceci n’est pas une pipe

Hi everybody,

“Ceci n’est pas une pipe” or otherwise known as “The Treachery of Images” is a painting by the Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte.

The title of “this is not a pipe” at face value seems to try to convince the viewer that the image which looks like a pipe is not a pipe. In response to criticism Magritte wrote ,

“The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it’s just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture ‘This is a pipe’, I’d have been lying!”
Another master of his art , Pablo Picasso said,

“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”

These two quotes are the bedrock of my practice. I am not interested in the true representation of the composition, the likeness of the person or the exact dimensions of a figure. The portrait of a person can never be the person.

What interest me is to capture the essence, the way the person makes me feel, the emotions, memories that are triggered, convincing the viewer that my lie is the truth.

See you soon

www.gigurtsis.com

 

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