Blog post -

Slide to Freedom!? An expressionist painting mirroring the ladder of "success" in contemporary society. Or is it a slide?

In one of his more complicated paintings Mas.s has depicted a topic challenging today's preconceived ideas of success. He says "Many are trying to get on "the ladder", mainly to achieve egocentric success. But where is this going?" He asks. "Up or down? What is the personal cost? In fear of failing or falling? What happens with the "victims" of this drive? He has painted a slide and the ladder upside down.

In his passionate, direct and uniquely illustrative way he asks very important but often neglected questions. "As we move up the ladder there seems to be less room for one another. People are sacrificed, on the other side of the ladder the victims of this drive gather, seemingly going down with the driven.  But Mas.s says "I am not sure if that is realistic and true. Maybe it is a journey to freedom." He took that view as the basis of his painting. "The powerful and selfish loosing sight of each other. Not going up the ladder but down and blindly victimising each other. Falling into oblivion. Even the powerful staying on the ladder, thinking that they will be all right, find out that they are slowly disappearing under water. Life seemed pink but slowly turning blue, violet and ending up in deep purple. Powerless they continue they journey downwards. The victims of power and selfishness pushed aside through a blood red barrier, depicting the violence of the process, seemingly going down on the wrong side of the ladder. But mysteriously they are gathered, held together, they can not see but they are not alone, then mysteriously they slide up, towards freedom, depicted in yellow. Once they are up the slide they are able to see. They look in awe, in terror  to the scene beside and below them. 

Mas.s says " Does power, strength, money, progress, advancement, career really deliver what it promisses? Is the price that contemporary society has to pay to high? Is the cohesion and division accross all of society and even within ourselves not evident? Is the result of all this that we lost care, that we just do not care anymore? Or even closer to the point, that we can not care anymore? According to Mas.s would that go "against the very fabric of our being. We could centre on each other, seeking communion, supplementing each other. Care without fear."

Topics

  • Spiritual development, healing, meditation

Categories

  • libor
  • banking scandal
  • morals
  • contemporary art
  • expressionism
  • achievement
  • career
  • care
  • olympics
  • financial crisis

Contacts

Marcel Schreur

Press contact Visual Artist 0777 232 1772

Related content