Bartosz Beda
🖌️🕰️ In this series of paintings, I explore the cyclic nature of history, inspired by the contemplative words of German philosopher Georg Hegel: “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”
🎨👉 These works, in the video, capture the iterative process of history’s lessons through oil paint. Each brushstroke and layer reflects the repeated failures and fleeting triumphs of humanity encapsulated within the confines of the canvas. This series represents a visual meditation on the paradoxical nature of historical awareness and amnesia. 🖌️🕰️
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🎨👁 As I apply paint to canvas, the emerging images are symbolically steeped. The initial phases of painting, where forms and figures are outlined, hint at the emergence of recognizable shapes from the abstract. This stage symbolizes the developing understanding of historical patterns, where the limits of our perspective still obscure clarity.
👨🎨🎨 As I continue to develop the painting, the complexity increases, mirroring the layered and often convoluted interpretation of history we grapple with. 🎨👁
👨🎨🧠 In the final stages, depicted in the video, the artwork nears completion, and the details become more defined, yet some aspects deliberately remain unclear or incomplete.
😅✂️ This approach echoes the message that while we may strive for clarity and comprehension in learning from our past, some lessons remain elusive, lost to the shadows of time. The process of painting becomes an allegory for the intellectual endeavor of understanding history, challenging viewers to reflect on what is remembered and what is repeatedly overlooked. 👨🎨🧠