News 1905

Curator: Good morning. We're standing before "News," a 1905 tempera painting by Lithuanian artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis. Editor: Oh, hello there. It looks a bit like a moody sunset behind a really big, hulking mountain… like something heavy is about to happen, doesn’t it? Curator: Interesting observation. Focusing on the formal aspects, note the interplay of organic and geometric forms. Ciurlionis structures the composition through line and colour, pushing the boundaries of landscape art into something deeply symbolic and modern. Semiotic analysis suggests the mountain acts as a signifier of permanence against a transient sky. Editor: Oh, absolutely, I dig it. Transient… yes, it does feels like that kind of in-between moment when the earth is holding its breath, the whole thing has this expressive undercurrent, this visual mood lighting for… well, who knows what, maybe a new chapter. Maybe he knew something we didn't about what the “news” was bringing back in 1905. Curator: That interpretation aligns nicely with Ciurlionis' engagement with symbolism and modernism. He aimed to evoke emotional and spiritual states, not just depict physical reality. This painting almost serves as a synesthetic trigger, attempting to connect painting with music. Notice the near absence of sharp edges, creating flow, visual cadence. Editor: Yeah, I get that musical feel. It’s less like looking at a still photograph and more like catching a glimpse of something moving—almost a moving painting, an actual dream maybe, where everything sort of vibrates together like tuning forks— the mountain looming with potential. There’s also a bird? Snake? Wriggling, which could signify evolution or freedom... it feels primordial. Curator: Indeed. One might analyse the linear form slithering along the upper-edge of the canvas through a post-structuralist lens, interpreting its ambiguous form as resisting fixed categorization, defying easy binaries between bird and snake. It encapsulates movement while eluding precise definition, much like "news" itself. Editor: Totally… So what’s new is also what's not yet definable. Nicely said. It’s kind of chilling how much feeling he manages to get into one picture… like a really profound haiku… and hey, speaking of primordial and movement…maybe snakes fly in Lithuania?! Curator: (chuckles lightly) Perhaps in Ciurlionis' vision they do. Ultimately, "News" prompts a deep meditation on the relationship between form, emotion, and representation. Editor: Exactly, it asks more than it tells. This has been truly illuminating for me, kind of inspiring actually… gives me an itch to make something out of pure feeling.