July 15, Cut Outs

Smooth, winding curves. Vibrant, solid tomato red and deep, placid midnight blue. My morning stepping in front of and staring at piece after piece of art finally culminated in the seemingly disjointed array of Matisse cut outs at the Galway Arts Festival. The tall glass building looming over the River Corrib housed several free exhibits including ones on traditional military uniforms, Galway Hookers (boats, not otherwise), Irish photography, and, of course, the Matisse cut outs.

To be honest, the small lithograph prints seemed slightly out of place among the other Irish-themed art, but I found the rows of colorful abstractions hung in the narrow, squash-colored room to be the most inspiring. Not one to be restrained by his failing health and confinement to a wheelchair, Matisse spent the last 14 years of his career cutting out thousands of organically-shaped, brightly painted pieces of paper. They ended up being his favorite medium to work with and I have every reason to believe him. Besides the fact that I can understand how fun cutting things can be (I happen to be a huge fan of collages and homemade cards), I also understand why cut outs might have felt so rewarding given Matisse’s circumstances. Instead of abandoning painting, Matisse referred to his cut outs as “painting with scissors.” He has been quoted explaining how liberated he felt, the sensation of flight he felt when he guided the metal blades around the paper. Looking at those free form shapes and bold colors that seem to dance within the frames that contain them, I could feel the freedom that Matisse said filled him. While the majority of the others on the trip were scaling a rocky mountain that morning, discovering how far they could push their muscles and will power, I was reminded of how important it is to do so. The products of our most challenging circumstances also tend to be the most rewarding. 320