Bring out the Beauty in You

By Hamda Al Hashemi (@Hamda_AlHashemi)

With every brushstroke and every color tone, the artist tells the viewer something. Whether it is a confession, an opinion, or an expression of a certain feeling, that artwork becomes a medium; a medium to communicate. All humans have the urge to let out their feelings and thoughts and tell someone about them, but we often feel that it is hard to find that perfect someone who is willing to listen to us, without judgment.

So we tend to let out those feelings negatively; we snap at everyone when we are upset, we make people think we are indifferent when we are sad. If we find a way to divert those negative feelings into something positive, then we will become happier human beings.

I attended an Arabic calligraphy workshop by Wissam Shawkat a while ago, and he said something beautiful about his practice. He said that every curve, every millimeter, and every direction in Arabic calligraphy has a secret. And there is always a reason behind drawing that letter in that way. You will never find two calligraphy art works that look the same because with each one, the artist writes it with his own feelings. That is what makes each artwork special and interesting, unlocking the secrets into the soul of the artist.

Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch understood that concept. After seeing a volcanic eruption, he sensed something, he felt like nature was “screaming”. So he painted his famous art piece “The Scream”. He felt scared, and afraid, and he wondered if nature felt the same way as he did. So this painting, which many people see unattractive and meaningless, is one of the most famous paintings of impressionist artists. A simple visual translation of a series of emotions led to the spawn of this elaborate masterpiece.

Our human nature sometimes leads us into doing something foolish, and in certain situations, we hurt the people we love in the process. So why not try and change that? On my first art and design class we were asked to draw a composition that showed our anger. I clearly remember a girl scratching the paper with the pencil so vigorously that it tore apart. When she was done she said “much better.” If that anger was targeted towards a person, that person would have probably been crushed by harsh words and hurtful actions from that girl.

“Frustration is the wet nurse of violence.” Seeing a lot of artwork, poems, and novels I see mixed, overwhelmed emotions. Beauty can be found in everything, all we need to do is find it. In a concentration camp in Palestine, a man used metal scrapes to give the others with him a speck of hope. That is beauty. The world can become a wonderful place if we turn something ugly into something stunning.

Here We Start – Just Another Undergrad – Living Through The Eyes of Art
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