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 (作品解说牌). 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 (这次注意到了一些之前错过的好作品). As a matter of fact, they are all marvellous, and the only difference is how you see them (唯一的区别在于你怎么看它们), with your eyes or with your mind and heart (用眼睛还是用心看）.
When I was in the gallery, I met a group of young people. I'm sorry that I overheard their talk (无意中听到他们的谈话). 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 (有人评论说南安普顿城市美术馆的作品没有英国博物馆的好，因为博物馆里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 (我并不是评头论足，但我觉得参观博物馆或是美术馆其实是比较私人的活动). 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.
今天要欣赏的画作会让人感到压抑，尤其在疫情期间。不过，当我们学会直视“病痛”和“死亡” ，恐惧会逐渐消散。
Reverie of the Ward
《病房幻想曲》
Have you watched Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (宫崎骏的《哈尔的移动城堡》)? If you have, you may find a great many similar motifs and symbols (类似的图案和标志).
(part of Reverie of the Ward)
（图片源于网络）
Look at the servants of Witch of the waste (荒野女巫的仆人) and the transforming figures in Greg's painting (Greg画中正在变形的人形形象), what do you think they are showing us?
How about these figures (人形形象)? Do they look alike? 他们是不是也很类似？
(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.
（图片源于网络）
It may be coincidence (巧合), but both the painting and the cartoon have a common theme destiny. 两个作品都和“命运”这一主题息息相关。但是，相较于《哈尔的移动城堡》，Greg的《病房狂想曲》里有更多更明显的象征死亡和病痛的元素，例如skull (骷髅头)，corpse (尸体)，和dead horses (死马）。
In fact, this painting was created after Greg was diagnoised with stage 4 bowel cancer. 创造这幅作品时，Greg已经被诊断出肠癌晚期。作为一个兼艺术家、诗人及音乐家于一身的Greg，用他自己的方式阐述了病痛和死亡。
Was the painter horrified (恐惧的)? I don't know, but I do see that he shows the changing of lives and the loss of identities in his painting (他的作品展现了生命的变化以及身份的丢失— 仔细观察，你会发现人形人物都没有脸).
(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. 哈尔用自己的心和路西法做交易之后，哈尔也在失去自己最重要的一部分。
（图片源于网络）
This brings us to another character in Hayao Miyazaki's works, No-face (无脸男).
（图片源于网络）
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.
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