Answer

Yesterday, Dawn surprised me by saying that this print was me.

I was so surprised that when she asked me what I saw in it, I babbled some incoherent nonsense. She was right though, because the image resonated and stayed with me. So here's an attempt to answer your question.

I see serenity and solitude. The empty basket tells me that the day is ending, the toil of the day is over, and there is time for reflection. The mountain in the distance is unchanging, and even when the moods of the volcano change, underneath is permanence.

It occurs to me that the rippling path underneath the tree may be water, but my first impression was that it was a road, perhaps signifying one's life, with the ups and downs that happen to everyone. I also think it significant that the difficulty of navigating the road is trivial compared to the mass of the mountain beyond, or even to the lesser permanence of the tree itself, which live far longer than any single person.

I suck at this introspection stuff.

Posted by: Ted at 08:02 PM

Comments

1 This isn't cheesecake pinups and zombies.

Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2005 07:15 PM (l+W8Z)

2 This is yet another fascinating side to the Ted we all know and adore.

Posted by: dawn at October 09, 2005 07:43 PM (Dh1V0)

3 Maybe it's just a guy stuck in a tree?

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at October 09, 2005 08:27 PM (ics4u)

4 Dude, it's art. It's deep and shit.

If you want "guy stuck in a tree", see Norman Rockwell's "Proctologist Practical Joker".

Posted by: Ted at October 10, 2005 07:52 AM (+OVgL)

5 Interesting. To me, the empty basket would signify that the person hasn't done the task yet [like, maybe, going to town for groceries], saw a good place to stop for a rest, and is enjoying the view before going on.

Projection works.

Posted by: owlish at October 10, 2005 11:30 AM (bJF7u)

6 Seems t'me that the empty basket represents the boy's limitations. He packed some food and went off to reach the mountain, but the food is gone and he seems no closer. He is staring at the unreachable, knowing that he must turn around and go back home. Either he is thinking "Some day I will pack a basket big enough to last me 'til I reach that mountain," or "There ain't no way in hell I'm ever gonna get to that mountain so I think I'll just sit here for a while and appreciate what I CAN know about it. It's probably alot prettier from here, anyway."

Posted by: Tuning Spork at October 10, 2005 08:50 PM (jNDp0)

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