Welcome to the 205th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we explore love through a rose-tinted lens, understanding art’s deep-rooted history with romance, how it’s distorting our perceptions of seduction, and why we’re so addicted to fictitious relationships.
As an integral component of human emotion, the art of seduction has remained vital in the canon of art history. From the contorted likes of Vincent Van Gough to a modern-day Cupid like Frank Ocean, it seems we always find an aspect of creativity through heartbreak and lust. Portrayed through music, film and sculpture romance is seen in every corner of expression, underlying in rom-com heartbreaks and critically acclaimed tragedies like Romeo and Juliet. But why are we so obsessed with romance, and more importantly, how is it affecting intimacy in a contemporary setting?
For centuries, artisans have been excited by the challenge of the indescribable. Often limited by linguistic prisons, they strive to convey our confusing and illogical emotions with a medium of choice. Romance being one of our most intense, emotion-based endeavours, it’s no wonder why art is drawn towards it, as we strive to explore these tropes of passion, angst, anticipation and desire. Lacking any sort of understanding as to why our emotions intertwine in the way they do, we’ve become obsessed with the idea of illustrating and relating to them.
Using art as a chariot to visualize the ineffable, we’ve seen countless renditions of what’s “perceived” to be romantic. Giving way to gut-wrenching cinematics like Christiane F. or a polarizing counterpart like Titanic, we distort our perceptions of love and loyalty through glamourized screenplay.
Leaving many with unrealistic expectations for relationships of their own, seduction has become a mere skeleton of reality, as we yearn for settings only achievable through million-dollar budgets and refined melodies. For better or worse, our perceptions of romance are no longer simple, as we’re constantly shown the extremes of both desire and loss.
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