Burning Desire (continued)
The zebra print in the background of this piece is colored blue and yellow instead of the expected black and white. This is to illustrate that life is almost never presented in a clear-cut manner. Blue is the color most often associated with issues of the spirit and intellect. It is the color of sky and heaven, also having strong connections with nearly all forms of water. Thus it is connected with purity and cleansing. It traditionally has feminine, cool and reflective aspects. Its link to the sky also connotes eternity and immensity, time and space. Blue is often linked to truth and transparency.
Yellow often stands for light, the sun's rays, intellect, faith, and goodness. However, yellow can also be a sign of cowardice, betrayal, and/or jealousy. Because of the two distinct colors, the zebra print is often representative of duality, which results in a split personality with two distinct identities that compete for dominance.
Red, an emotionally charged color, is associated with war, anger, blood-lust, vengeance, fire, and the masculine. It can also mean love, passion, health, and arousal. The black silhouette of the young girl is decorated with skulls on the skirt. This symbol is often associated with death and evil, but some ancient cultures believed the skull had the opposite association, that it represented the embodiment of consciousness in the human form.
Most of the numbers in this painting are even: two birds, six flames on the chandelier, six red balls, and four skulls. The exception, of course, is the female figure, and in a lesser way, the light fixture, which is merely an extension of the girl, in that it represents her illuminating intelligence. Of course, the two blackbirds can be read as thesis and anti-thesis.
The number four deals with stability and the grounded nature of all things. It represents solidity and calmness. It is the number of persistence and endurance. Note, however, that the four skulls are somewhat off center and that one is fractured. It is this very dissection that created the appearance that the skulls encircle the hem of the skirt. The number six signifies growth on the spiritual level. The fact that there are six candlesticks (representing the intellect) and six red balls (representing spirit) connects these two aspects of human consciousness. And, of course, both are painted red, as is the fire, hinting that the three elements are somehow all connected. In an interesting aside, fire is the only one of the four elements that humans can reproduce themselves, so it is said to be the bridge between mortals and gods. Rituals often involve fire, and it is often a symbol of purification. It can even be a symbol of religious zeal and martyrdom.
Freud saw fire as an aspect of the libido representing forbidden passions, but is also seen in psychology as destruction and regeneration.
Yellow often stands for light, the sun's rays, intellect, faith, and goodness. However, yellow can also be a sign of cowardice, betrayal, and/or jealousy. Because of the two distinct colors, the zebra print is often representative of duality, which results in a split personality with two distinct identities that compete for dominance.
Red, an emotionally charged color, is associated with war, anger, blood-lust, vengeance, fire, and the masculine. It can also mean love, passion, health, and arousal. The black silhouette of the young girl is decorated with skulls on the skirt. This symbol is often associated with death and evil, but some ancient cultures believed the skull had the opposite association, that it represented the embodiment of consciousness in the human form.
Most of the numbers in this painting are even: two birds, six flames on the chandelier, six red balls, and four skulls. The exception, of course, is the female figure, and in a lesser way, the light fixture, which is merely an extension of the girl, in that it represents her illuminating intelligence. Of course, the two blackbirds can be read as thesis and anti-thesis.
The number four deals with stability and the grounded nature of all things. It represents solidity and calmness. It is the number of persistence and endurance. Note, however, that the four skulls are somewhat off center and that one is fractured. It is this very dissection that created the appearance that the skulls encircle the hem of the skirt. The number six signifies growth on the spiritual level. The fact that there are six candlesticks (representing the intellect) and six red balls (representing spirit) connects these two aspects of human consciousness. And, of course, both are painted red, as is the fire, hinting that the three elements are somehow all connected. In an interesting aside, fire is the only one of the four elements that humans can reproduce themselves, so it is said to be the bridge between mortals and gods. Rituals often involve fire, and it is often a symbol of purification. It can even be a symbol of religious zeal and martyrdom.
Freud saw fire as an aspect of the libido representing forbidden passions, but is also seen in psychology as destruction and regeneration.