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zyygh t1_j45quzj wrote

Gotta say, this crop of the painting makes it lose some of its magic.

A brilliant part of the original painting is the two people walking away from the viewer in the background. They either are unaware or choose to ignore the person in despair, which adds a whole 'nother layer of helplessness.

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hoii t1_j47cyzn wrote

iirc, the scream isn't supposed to be coming from the figure in the picture, the scream is from nature, the swirling chaotic vibrant surroundings and the figure (Munch) is experiencing the scream and not themselves screaming. At the same time, see it how you want, all art is polysemic.

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callalily742 t1_j48f83u wrote

Man I failed a poetry assignment in high school because I "interpreted it wrong." Thank you for your comment, I've been preaching that for years.

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hoii t1_j48jdo5 wrote

No worries, I totally understand, they really need to move away from teaching this way. Meaning is created through the act of observation and context, its not inherent in anything despite what people say the artist 'intended', that meaning only applies to them and the perception of their own creation, once it's out into the world they have no control over its meaning.

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