by
Lucas Amadeus Wingell
The Language of Art
Up until I was 9 years of age, I couldn’t talk. I had to slowly learn how to communicate to catch up with everyone else academically. Perhaps because of this, I developed an interest in historic linguistics. Recently I’ve been making my own constructed languages based upon what I’ve researched.
I find special inspiration in Refugium, an imaginary world created by the youtuber, Biblaridion. He creates his own languages and Refugium is a world he created for the citizenry to communicate with one another. It is called Refugium, because as far as the people of that world know, their world is flat and infinite and dark, except for this one place.
In striking contrast to the black surroundings, the blues, greens, and yellows of this picture evoke a feeling of peace and calmness. A simple, yet effective message. Together with the name of the illustrated realm this picture really speaks to me. Perhaps, just like me, Biblaridion finds a quiet solitary refuge in the fascinating world of linguistics.
Figure 1. Biblaridion [real name is unknown]. (2020). A map of The Refugium, as of 2020 [digital art]. Fandom Wiki. https://biblaridion.fandom.com/wiki/Biblaridion_Wiki
The History of Communication
Throughout history artworks were a form of communication. They were a form of expression telling a story and connecting directly to the identity of their creator, like the Cueva de los Manos from the module “Looking Back”.
Figure 2. “Rosetta Stone Ancient Egyptian Inscribed Stone.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 4 May 1999, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rosetta-Stone.
This topic connects to my identity and development because of my own struggles with expression and my interest in the communication through languages that developed a long time ago and keep evolving throughout the times. I also think of languages that no longer exist. Perhaps some of the art that was created a long time ago and we can still admire was created by someone who spoke a language that no longer exists, but through the art we can understand the message without the words.
I made this piece for an art exhibition at the Rail’s End Gallery in Haliburton. The theme was Forgotten, so I made an ancient looking tablet based on the Rosetta stone. There are three different scripts on it: Latin, Futhark and Tocharian. This sculpture is based on the Rosetta stone which was made in 196 BCE, thus connecting it to ancient history of art and communication.
These three scripts represent not only the ancient languages but also the forgotten people and cultures of the past. In today’s changing world of global interconnectivity English is becoming the main language of communication. Perhaps many well established languages will disappear into the forgotten history of humanity.
Figure 3. Wingell, L. (2022~2023). Rosetta Thing [plaster of paris, tea, acrylic on paper].
I called this painting, Do Posledniho Dechu (To The Last Breath). I painted it during my last year of high school. It is based on a Czech song of the same title. I feel that as a Canadian artwork it connects to the theme of Canadian Identity and speaks to Canadian multiculturalism. Both the song and the painting employ a lot of symbolism. I utilized bright energizing colours to express the song’s emotion.
Figure 4. Wingell, L. (2022~2023). Do Posledniho Dechu (To The Last Breath) [acrylic on illustration board].
“Do Posledniho Dechu”
To the Last Breath
Song by Nerez
Sun in the windows
doctor in the house
just let the sun shine
for you and I
Spider in the web
sweetly slumbers
Where does disappear
the color of the sun?
Autumn is singing to us today
on the thinnest of strings
Water is alive
after all
We were drunk
We were and we were not
and lived in moss
We were drunk
We were and we were not
We weren’t and we were
Figure 5. Nerez, Masopust, “Do Posledniho Dechu”, YouTube, https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXcjzWCnEw
The Symbolic Alphabet
Since early on, my path as an artist has been influenced by Canadian art. My stepfather, Ritchie Sinclair, is a great Canadian artist that apprenticed with Norval Morrisseau. My mom, Brona Wingell, is also a wonderful artist whose work was influenced by Ritchie’s art. I am surrounded by their art in my home, as every wall has a great painting hanging on it. Norval Morrisseau’s painting style is thought to be an important cultural symbol of Aboriginal Canadian identity which also connects it to the module we explored on “Canadian Identity”.
Norval Morrisseau and other famous Canadian artists communicate to people through symbolism. Some of the symbols they use are easy for everyone to read like, for example, a bird being a symbol of freedom. Other symbolism can be of a more personal nature and involve emotional connections. This painting is called Sounding. It is an acrylic painting created by both Ritchie Sinclair and by Norval Morrisseau in 1979. It has a playful and mystical foreground created on a luminous background. My art has certainly been influenced by the bright colours and symbolism of Canadian art like this.
Figure 6. Sinclair, R and Morrisseau, N. (1979). Sounding [Acrylic on canvas]. Lovescapes. https://lovescapes.ca/sounding-1979-morrisseau-sinclair
Looking back I see my artistic journey as an activity that strengthened me, and gave me a unique way of communicating and connecting with others. In my youth as I struggled to learn to speak and write I found art, music, games and quiet pursuits to be inspiring and fulfilling.
As an artist I feel that I’ve been most influenced by the challenges I faced personally. I have grown to love and respect languages, in all their forms and variations, yet the symbolic alphabet of art is universal. It breaks all barriers.
References:
Lucas Amadeus Wingell
© 2024 · Lucas Wingell | Canada