Talking about Art: Water

How would a child depict water? With waved lines of course. A similar approach serves many craftspeople and decorative artists today. I find it reassuring to see the waved-lines solution goes back 4,000 to this early ceramic jug.

Contrast old with new, this print ad for Dasani bottled water dates from 2014. Water is necessary, life-giving, but we’re a mobile society, so we need ways of carrying water. Like so many ads, this one suggests a product can change experience: Dasani turns a harsh desert life into a refreshing oasis.

In the 19th century, industrialization and urban life changed the focus of art from the depiction of gods to the depiction of contemporary life. A popular religious theme had been the baptism of Christ. Water (like Christ) cleanses and allows new identities to take shape. Bathing continues to be a popular theme, but it loses its religious connotations. In Greek and Roman mythology, humans spy on gods and goddesses bathing in rivers. When they get caught, they’re in big trouble. Impressionists like Degas depict ordinary women bathing in plain tubs in their garret apartments.

Filmmakers depict outcasts taking baths in order to become civilized. In the case of Charlie Chaplin and Clint Eastwood, one senses water will not tame their wild spirits.

Land artists focus on environments. Their art draws attention to different natural elements and the delicate balances that hold them together. In the case of Michael Grab, the balance has a surprising, playful quality.

What does the imperial city of Rome with its impressive Renaissance and Baroque architecture have in common with the tourist-trap gambling mecca, Las Vegas? Why, fountains, of course. The Bellagio Fountain, with its light show, ever-changing sprays and choreographed showers, is a source of entertainment and delight.

Artists from different eras return to ancient works to put their own spin on them. In Fellini’s film, La Dolce Vita, Sylvia played by Anita Ekberg is a mesmerizing enchantress who has placed a spell upon the world-weary Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni). Love-sick, he follows her into the waters of the Trevi Fountain, a moment of great romantic possibility and absurdity that ends not at all how he hoped.

The Rome-based fashion company Fendi donated $2 million to have the Trevi Fountain repaired in 2015. In return, Fendi gained permission to hold a fashion show on a plexiglass runway suspended above the Fountain’s waters. The show was a stunning success for designer Karl Lagerfeld and creative director Silvia Venturini.

A simple water vessel from the ancient past, an extravagant exhibition of glamour and fashion. Water can be spiritual, practical, life-renewing, and entertaining. Water is a symbol of nature, change, motion, and the playful nature of the human imagination.