Paralytic Child Walking
Bacon’s painting Paralytic Child Walking disturbs and fascinates me. My gaze is drawn to it in the way that one's gaze is drawn to the scene of a horrific car accident. At the same time it is possible to see, with a little detachment, that the composition is elegant and the pose of the child graceful, almost balletic. Personally, I do not believe that Bacon set out to horrify. I believe he set himself a far more interesting and difficult task: to beautify horror.
If so, the intention is philosophical. Neitzsche admonished his readers to, "Say yes to life!" But these simple words conceal an enormous challenge because the word "life" implies so much that is horrifying. It may seem macabre and callous to look for beauty in darkness and suffering. But to do so is to redeem the universe. |
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