Quiet Time

Short Thoughts

12 Dec

Written By Quinn

I know very little of Novus41, other than he’s a Polish forty-three-year-old who goes by the name of Stanley. Well, that’s not quite all. His bio, translated for free with good ol’ Google translate, says that he does physical work during the day, and his art is created in his spare time.

I was first attracted to one of his latest pictures called Parting, and when I looked through the rest of his work found I could identify with many of his images. Stanley can produce imagery with a quiet feel; I’m drawn to both Parting, and Contrition for this very reason. They’re calm. Serene. They give you time and space to think. I haven’t much to offer in the way of analysis, and this is more a post to say ‘here is some art which is conducive to clearing the head of clutter’. I’m intrigued by Parting. The head in the water is disproportionately larger than the man standing beside what looks like an oversized puddle. I see an element of humility expressed in his standing over the face with his hands in his pockets. Was his head once too big? Or does the face loom large because he is moving on and saying goodbye to those he once knew? Maybe he used to look at things as bigger than they were in reality? Is the parting a move away from worry and an old habit of blowing things out of proportion?

Contrition isn’t just showing remorse but forgiveness too. This image is pretty powerful in its symbolic expression. There’s an underlying message coming through that life really is okay. Although yet again, there’s an intimation that whatever has happened maybe wasn’t as big or bad as the person thought. He stands in a tiny body of water that doesn’t even cover half of him, yet he’s soaking wet; has he put himself under on purpose? Contrition speaks of a time after an event. Is this how he felt at its conclusion? Water correlates to emotion, and here it says there isn’t enough to overwhelm if one remains still and stays on their feet. Whatever feelings remain, the water surrounding him suggests it is being felt. At some point, the emotion has washed over him. But then maybe he was just standing in an empty pit and was caught out by a passing storm? Or perhaps it was a tsunami of sorts that caught him off guard? He can climb out anytime he’s ready, so whatever situation this image represents, it’s nothing to worry about and will leave no mark on memory or soul. This picture may resonate with those who suffer from guilt; in this instance, it reflects a need to gain forgiveness from a higher power. It can be too easy to fall into the trap of perpetually berating the self. Instead of using the mistake as a catalyst for growth, it becomes a form of emotional masturbation which benefits no one but the internal demon it feeds. The face in the sky is Buddha-like, and this says mastery over the emotions is a goal here. Still, the man-self may need to acknowledge that imperfection is what makes us human.

Stanley has since deactivated his account, and no link remains to his work.