The Art of Impressionism in Our Life

As the National Gallery Singapore recently concluded its special exhibition “Into the Modern: Impressionism from MFA, Boston”, I am still basking in the glory of these masterpieces. These artworks from over 100 years ago are not only visually pleasing, but also convey profound meanings which have imbued a lasting impact on me. The aesthetic realm manifested by the artists from the other side of the globe gave me an epiphany — this aesthetic realm can be transferred to real life. The spirit carried by these artists, which is still pertinent in today’s world, inspired me.

The Romance of the Impressionists

Entering the exhibition as someone who has never dived deep into art, my first impression of the paintings was rather straightforward and possibly to some extent amateur — they were visually pleasing. Drawing on my memories from cubist paintings which were, to me, too abstract to grasp their artistic meanings at first sight, I was astounded by impressionist artists’ clear intentions of depicting a certain image. Different from other styles such as expressionism which usually depicts discomforting images to demonstrate evil and horror, impressionism often presents nature and commoners, creating a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

In the exhibition, I was completely immersed in the serenity, imagining how these artists left their house, set up their chair at the pond, listened to the euphonious flow of water, sensed the soft caress of the autumn breeze and transferred the landscape in front of them onto their canvas. It seems to be such a luxury in today’s world to do what they did in the past. We now have much more resources than they did, yet it seems that we don’t have the time to connect with nature, nor do we have the poetic mood to sit by a lake and enjoy the placid ambience of the nature because we are too wrapped up in cosmopolitan life.

In this digital age, the Internet has become a shackle. It provides us the illusion of connection — we are connected online yet fail to embrace the real world with our real, humanistic senses. We have become so disconnected from our own selves that the idea of staying with ourselves and putting away all technological devices seems to be unbearable. We constantly seek for connection, yet we fail to gaze at our own souls or understand who we truly are.

Looking at the impressionist art pieces, I realised that simplicity and tranquility have become such alien concepts to us. While the impressionists looked outwards to find peace, we now look downwards into a glowing device to find noise. It seems that we are living in an era that is materialistically wealthy yet spiritually deprived; it seems that we have been so obsessed with our screens that we have forgotten to seek comfort and inspiration from the nature; it seems that we have stopped asking ourselves questions and started to scroll away emptiness and loneliness with technology; it seems that we are living in a completely artificial world which tries to bring us immediate joy and amuse ourselves to death. And when we cease to think all together, can we still call ourselves human?

Embrace Uncertainty

Living in a world dominated by modern technology, we are getting more and more obsessed with precision — train arrival time is corrected to the second, assignments must be submitted by 23:59 pm, video quality is getting as high as 1080p bitrate… undeniably, better precision is desirable to prevent mistakes and loopholes. However, the idea of precision has snuck into our daily life and stealthily altered the way we approach humanistic happenings. Casual meetups, personal opinions, impromptu trips… there are plenty of events in our life that do not require perfectionist accuracy, but rather our senses and feelings which are the most humanistic qualities that robots lack. Yet, we sometimes seem to live like a robot while asking robots to act like a human.

It is indisputable that we generally feel unsettled with uncertainty. Yet, ironically, with the advancement of technology, while we are becoming more certain of tomorrow’s weather, live traffic conditions, next meteor shower… we are getting less assured about our employment status, financial ability, future policies… the volatility of today’s world is like a pressure cooker that drains our mental power.

A tremendous sense of anxiety struck me when I first started to seek for internships. The number of interviews was miserably little compared to the number of companies I had applied for. I read a headline saying that Harvard MBAs can’t find jobs, which added extra pressure on me. Together with the recent retrenchment of my cousin’s company which had made her unemployed and at the edge of a mental breakdown, I felt overwhelmingly anxious about my future. When the world’s best university was no longer a guarantee to employment, when many nations were facing the threat of economic recession, it seemed that there was no guarantee of anything. I could not stay assured if I could successfully start my career as I planned before entering university; I could not stay assured if I could face a financial crisis that might wash away the vibrant colours of stability from me; I could not even stay assured if the place I was staying at could be well protected from political tensions and climate change… I felt lost, like an exhausted hiker trapped in a forest. I started the journey with pure optimism that the journey would be peaceful, but in reality it was not always sunny, it got foggy from time to time. I, and I believe many of us, do not like the feeling when we cannot see the road clearly.

After spending hours in the exhibition, it finally dawned on me that uncertainty is not always bad. To me, the beauty of impressionism lies exactly within the sense of uncertainty. Viewers can’t see the exact details of the trees, but rather the dabs of green and yellow paint which gives an impression of what they look like. This creates a misty artistic atmosphere that veils its beauty, making it even more attractive. This hazy aesthetic realm applies to literature as well. Misty poetry uses interpretive literary methods to veil the explicit details, achieving a sense of mystery. It seems that if I enjoy the misty beauty of the arts, I should be able to appreciate the misty beauty of my own life — I can’t see the details of my life, but that is exactly the beauty of my life. This mindset towards uncertainty has brought me a sense of relief, making me break free from constantly seeking for immediate certainty, hence giving me a calmer mental state in navigating the world of uncertainty.

This misty beauty has also taught me not to take everything in life seriously. It is sometimes more beneficial to let go of precision — which is to embrace uncertainty. We humans are not machines or robots that are embedded with well engineered clocks or mechanisms. Neither are we required to perform error-free tasks all the time. A constant calculation of precision takes up a lot of energy. It might unwittingly put unnecessary pressure on us, making us feel on edge even when doing leisure activities that are supposed to make us unwind. Just like impressionists loosened structural details, it might be a wiser choice to loosen our obsession with precision in some aspects of life. By being easy on ourselves, we could give our brain some precious time to rest and enjoy life without imposing pressure on ourselves.

The Art of Being Obtuse

The impressionist painting technique of depicting ambiguous images while keeping certain details vivid resonates with the life philosophy of a famous Chinese painter, Zheng Banqiao. Zheng believed that it is a great wisdom to be muddled. Different from the English proverb “ignorance is bliss”, his idea conveys the art of acting obtuse even when knowing the real situation. Great minds think alike. The impressionist artworks show ignorance by omitting delicate brushstrokes, but behind the seemingly lightheaded dabs and dots, the creators were in fact very lucid and clearheaded. This can be seen from the subtle yet precise details meticulously depicted in the shadows and reflections of objects. It is their choice to demonstrate a blurry image, not the lack of capability.

In life, sometimes it is a great wisdom but a rare quality to act as if we do not know the truth. It is different from acting innocent when we want to gain empathy from others or circumvent troubles. This art of being ignorant is more internal where we choose not to be troubled by negativities despite our knowledge of it. There is a plethora of painful truths in life which might eventually tear us apart if we let them accumulate. While simply avoiding learning about the brutal truths seems to be a negative escape from reality, acting ignorant after knowing the truths seems to be a great way to stay mentally resilient. It is definitely not easy to simply filter out negative thoughts, as once we learn something, it is sometimes hard to unlearn it. But by practising this life philosophy, we might be able to take it easy on ourselves and also on others.

When someone is jealous of our achievements and starts to gossip about us, we can choose to ignore it and not let other people’s opinions affect our moods. But we are still aware of their opinions of us and their possible intentions when doing something. In this way, when they start to plot against us, we are cognisant of their malicious attempts and are able to act accordingly to protect ourselves. This is the impressionist style of painting — being acquainted with details but not always being affected by them.

Some Final Thoughts

Stepping out from the exhibition hall, I realised that the world around us is actually an artwork. Crimson clouds shaded by sunset, feathery leaves dancing with the breeze, our own reflection in a still river… They are all spectacular artworks. Ironically, we like to travel far and spend much to see them on canvas, but forget to appreciate them with our bare eyes in our everyday life. Although 200 years have passed and the world has changed drastically, the impressionists’ attitudes towards painting are still able to teach us a great lesson on how to live a life that is as peaceful as the works they have created.