Can you hear the pictures
I’ve been thinking how absolutely various people’s perception of the same object may be. This might be said about any object on earth at all, but what interests me the most – is the perception of pictures and paintings. Let’s take this Edvard Munch’s chef-d’oeuvre, for example.
Can you hear that creature’s sound? What is it like? Is he screaming? Is he squealing? Is he howling? Or is he, perhaps, silent at all? Might this be that he tries to scream, but the sound just doesn’t come out? Is the sound high or low?
To me, he is not silent. I can hear a very weird and particular sound similar to that when you try to talk into a glass jar. Have you ever tried to do so? That sound is hollow, booming and echoing. It isn’t loud, in fact, it’s more quiet, but filled with greatest desperation, fear and anguish. The kind of sound that makes you want to become deaf rather than to hear it once again.
And what do you hear?
Wow, your explanation on the sound he is making is amazing, I like your simile with the jar a lot. i don’t know why, but I have always envisioned it as the moment previous to the shout, when he is about to do it. Part of it is because the people on the back, they seem to be walking “normally”, so it is as if this guy is just about to lose it.
I also like the idea of he trying but not being able to shout, but only because every now and then (not too frequently!) I have a nightmare where I cannot shout even though I want to!
Oh, I have that nightmare of not being able to make a sound too!
Thanks for your explanation!
More like shrieking to me… And some serious mental troubles to boot.
“And some serious mental troubles to boot” – I knew you’d mention that.
*under jc’s avatar*
Place your hands tightly over your ears, open your mouth and hum. Thats what I imaging him doing in order to block out the world around him.
Thanks for your response.
I’ve always thought, looking at this painting, that the guy is desperately screaming but that no one can hear me.
As if he was in another world/dimension from which he’d want to escape with our help. But we can’t help him.
You mean you can’t hear him screaming, you just know he does scream?
yeah. It’s like I know he’s screaming, asking for help, but that I can’t hear him/help him.