Matisse Zoom, One

I’m trying to find a metaphor for what happens to me when I look at a Matisse. Let’s see, in sci-fi movies you ‘re shown the space craft suddenly accelerating, exiting our solar system and zooming into galactic space.
The zooming experience comes close, but I don’t feel zoomed to another-worldly realm with Matisse. It’s more like a centripetal zoom into this, just this, without any thought of “painting” or “culture” or “what’s he saying here” or even “isn’t this wonderful.” I lose a sense of time and place. It’s just this. I fall into this moment, intensely aware and intensely stupid at the same time.

Here are two passages from a Matisse painting that will remain unidentified for a few days. I’ll post two passages every day til December 31st, when I’ll show the whole painting. Each passage can be imagined as a large, entrancing painting in itself.
May the Zoom be with you.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
http://facefame.wordpress.com
http://katherinehilden.wordpress.com
http://www.katherinehilden.com
http://www.khilden.com