The boats of Fitz Henry Lane, luminist American painter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitz_Henry_Lane

 

Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865) was a “luminist” painter. He painted… mostly boats.

He’s on my border, this is why I put him here…

Above this border, it’s too academic, therefore boring. In Art, I like the “Hey this is new!” state, raising eyebrows, etc.

Nothing like that with Lane! But there’s this I-don’t-know-what which makes me watch more. Like the hesitating emoji holding his chin…

“Too wise”. “Too conventional”. “Lack of energy”. “Lack of surprises”. “Bland”. “Pff”.

Eyes want to roll. But they don’t.

Thus I wrote this article to think about this pattern : when you watch something you find “too conventional BUT”.

“Nope. Wait a minute…” : this, in loop.

 

Therefore, where is it? Where is this frontier? Aesthetics? Mood? Light? What about choices? What about other arts? What’s this loop in… propositions? In poetry? What is a music you don’t like BUT you want to stick on it to find what you “do like, though”? What is to be on this border? Is it lukewarm? Could this hesitation be useful? For what?

 

Thanks for reading!