Georgia O’Keeffe painted flowers
that’s all she was trying to do
but the sexual power
of women and flowers
comes brazenly shining through
Now, as a general rule, I think we should take the artist’s word as to what their poem, painting, book or song is about. Tolkien said repeatedly that Lord of the Rings was not symbolic of World War II, the orcs were just evil, nasty orcs and not disguised German soldiers. I believe him. I believe the producers of Sesame Street when they say Bert and Ernie are not intended as gay role models, but I’m not sure about Teletubbies. That Tinky-Winky, you know….
Alternately dark and mysterious....
John Lennon always said that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was inspired by a drawing his son brought home from school and I’ll accept that that was the trigger, the catalyst even though when they are singing about tangerine trees, marmalade skies and a girl with kaleidesope eyes it’s pretty hard not to associate that with LSD, if one has ever done LSD.
So, sometimes yes, sometimes no, which brings me to Georgia O’Keeffe. In passing, I would like to say that this is an example of the educational power of the internet. I’d never heard of her until about a year or so ago, in a comments thread, when her name came up and everybody else there was leaving intelligent, informed opinions as to whether or not she was painting vaginas in code, and so I had to look her up on Google. So, social networking/Google/Wikipedia and a brand new room of the universal art museum contained in the global mind was opened to me.
A room filled with flowers that look a lot like vaginas. I accept Ms. O’Keeffe’s statement, that she just liked painting flowers, but there is definitely something sensual about her flowers. I just think that shows a heightened awareness of flowers, which are basically like other green plants except that their reproductive systems are flamboyantly decorated, to attract the boys bees.
It’s sort of the same way I feel about the zodiac. Scientists say it’s rubbish, the stars are so far away they could not have any effect on our personalities, and Astrologers say, eh, whatever, it works. The way I see it, there doesn’t need to be a contradiction. It might work, for some reason that has nothing to do with the stars.
...and bright and beautiful
In the same way, O’Keeffe’s paintings are powerful and beautiful. Since this is true of both vaginas and flowers, there is no contradiction.
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