I like concepts like paradoxes and contradictions. For example, a sign that says "Distracted Driving Danger!" which you can only see if you are distracted driving, makes me smirk.
You can catch glimpses of that influence in the artwork as well. That is because I feel an "eternity" that never ends within contradictions and paradoxes. The more something does not end, the more it has no end, the more I feel a sense of relief. There are no answers. And in that, I feel the truth.
For example (though there are various theories), the Japanese word for understanding, "rikai suru," often uses the verb "wakaru." And "wakaru" uses the kanji "bun" (分), which means "to divide" or "to separate." This means that dividing and separating things can be rephrased as understanding them. Now, here is the main point.
You cut one thing in half. Then you cut that in half again. Just how far can you keep cutting it in half? That's right, I think you "can never completely divide it away," and it goes on forever. The world of the micro-micro becomes eternal.
That means... one could also think that it is impossible to ever completely, fully understand something.
You can never completely understand yourself or others. That is why I think it is fun.
Even if you think you fully understand someone, that person is growing and changing at that very moment, making it impossible to completely grasp who they are.
Acting like you "fully understand" someone, which you encounter in lovers, families, groups, or companies, is probably a big no-no based on this logic. "She's just that kind of person," "That guy always behaves like this," "Even so, he used to be this kind of guy back then"... This is a huge no-no when trying to understand a person who is "living right now." With that attitude, you will probably end up understanding nothing at all.
So what should we do? That is the question,
I think the key, much like in this painting, is to continue the endless effort to "try to understand." Because it is endless, I believe that continuing to "try to understand" is more important than "whether or not you were able to understand."
＊Bonus paradox) Pinocchio, whose nose grows when he lies, said, "I am a liar," and his nose grew... Where does the truth lie? Lol
