Hey guys! Last Saturday I spent the whole afternoon in the art gallery, so I had enough time to have a close look at pretty much every painting and to read most of the painting tags (作品解說牌). It's really amazing to get to "know" the paintings, because I feel like getting to know the painters and their lives.
I'm really glad that I could spend more time with them, and this time I did find some great works that I hadn't paid much attention to before (這次注意到了一些之前錯過的好作品). As a matter of fact, they are all marvellous, and the only difference is how you see them (唯一的區別在於你怎麼看它們), with your eyes or with your mind and heart (用眼睛還是用心看）.
When I was in the gallery, I met a group of young people. I'm sorry that I overheard their talk (無意中聽到他們的談話). I didn't mean to, but they spoke loudly in a quiet room. A guy commented that the paintings were not as good as those in the British Museum, because he could understand some of the paintings there but not here (有人評論說南安普頓城市美術館的作品沒有英國博物館的好，因爲博物館裏的一些作品至少他能看懂一些).
I'm not judging but I do think that visiting a museum or an art gallery is kind of private activity (我並不是評頭論足，但我覺得參觀博物館或是美術館其實是比較私人的活動). When you're not busy talking with your friends, you may see more and understand more.
Okay, today we're going to have a look at Greg Gilbert's work. Be prepared, because it would be a little depressing, especially now during the pandemic.
今天要欣賞的畫作會讓人感到壓抑，尤其在疫情期間。不過，當我們學會直視“病痛”和“死亡” ，恐懼會逐漸消散。
Reverie of the Ward
《病房幻想曲》
Have you watched Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (宮崎駿的《哈爾的移動城堡》)? If you have, you may find a great many similar motifs and symbols (類似的圖案和標誌).
(part of Reverie of the Ward)
（圖片源於網絡）
Look at the servants of Witch of the waste (荒野女巫的僕人) and the transforming figures in Greg's painting (Greg畫中正在變形的人形形象), what do you think they are showing us?
How about these figures (人形形象)? Do they look alike? 他們是不是也很類似？
(part of Reverie of the Ward)
Now let's look at other motifs.
What can you see in this part of painting? Scarecrows (稻草人)? Fire (火焰)?
(part of Reverie of the Ward)
In Howl's Moving Castle, we can find the same motifs.
（圖片源於網絡）
It may be coincidence (巧合), but both the painting and the cartoon have a common theme destiny. 兩個作品都和“命運”這一主題息息相關。但是，相較於《哈爾的移動城堡》，Greg的《病房狂想曲》裏有更多更明顯的象徵死亡和病痛的元素，例如skull (骷髏頭)，corpse (屍體)，和dead horses (死馬）。
In fact, this painting was created after Greg was diagnoised with stage 4 bowel cancer. 創造這幅作品時，Greg已經被診斷出腸癌晚期。作爲一個兼藝術家、詩人及音樂家於一身的Greg，用他自己的方式闡述了病痛和死亡。
Was the painter horrified (恐懼的)? I don't know, but I do see that he shows the changing of lives and the loss of identities in his painting (他的作品展現了生命的變化以及身份的丟失— 仔細觀察，你會發現人形人物都沒有臉).
(part of Reverie of the Ward)
After Howl's bargain with Calcifer at the price of his heart, he's losing the most important part of himself. 哈爾用自己的心和路西法做交易之後，哈爾也在失去自己最重要的一部分。
（圖片源於網絡）
This brings us to another character in Hayao Miyazaki's works, No-face (無臉男).
（圖片源於網絡）
How do you feel about Reverie of the Ward? I hope it won't make you feel depressed.
That's all for today. Bye for now.