The Devil in Disguise
What a person wants to believe, he also believes true.
(Demosthenes, Athen 384 v. Chr.; † 322 v. Chr.)
Deception and deceit are nothing new. The devil came to Faust in Goethe’s masterpiece as a poodle, like the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. Art and literature have been full of such tricks for a long time.
Deception in painting
Before we could catch reality in the lens of a camera, paintings tried to bring historical scenes to life on the canvas. If these oeuvres pretend to show what really happened, then it is only pretence. The ‘actors’ in the scenes, whether soldiers or priests, kings or knaves insisted on being depicted in the most favourable light. True or false – it did not matter.
Play with the senses
Artists have their own agenda and are driven to create something, at times for themselves, at times for the spectator. They answer to their soul or they disrupt, make you feel uncomfortable, or at least make you reflect and think twice. In as much, artists do manipulate. They play on our senses and maybe on the unconscious too. We often interpret more into works of art, then perhaps the artist intended.
We distort what we see
Much later the Impressionists dared to distance themselves from faithfully copying what they saw; they painted impressions, feelings and experimented with light. They were not out to deceive but were also not bent on reproducing a universal truth.
Fake or deception?
Artists have their own agenda and are driven to create something, at times for themselves, at times for the spectator. They answer to their soul or they disrupt, make you feel uncomfortable, or at least make you reflect and think twice. In as much, artists do manipulate. They play on our senses and maybe on the unconscious too. We often interpret more into works of art, then perhaps the artist intended.
If you want to learn more about “The Thrill of Deception”:
The exhibition in Kunsthalle Munich shows Ancient Art to Virtual Reality playing with our senses until 13 January 2019
The Devil in Disguise
CultureAndCream Author from Munich
Culture means traveling and literature and art, but also philosophy. Foreing countries, beautiful books, exciting arts opens to us horizons. We need philosophy more than ever in everyday life to meet other cultures with open hearts and become aware that we are all human. We may come from different cultures but we all want to know what the meaning of life is. The vision of our company Street Philosophy is to bring a positive idea of change in society.
