[Mind] Games

Blindman's Bluff - Alexander Melamid and Vitaly Komar

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This painting is an example of Baroque art. It depicts a boy and a girl playing the game for which the painting is named after. Painted in 1983, it reflects the oppressive lifestyle of people in Russia at this time. It does this by obviously displaying a portrait of Stalin on the wall. Also, while the game seems lighthearted and fun, the colors and symbols (like the portrait) give it a more dismal look.
    This painting, besides symbolizing the post WWII period, reflects some aspects of our research. We can clearly see that the boy is playing a trick on the girl. She is blindfolded and is looking around for him at a normal height. However, he is taking advantage of her disability to see and is crouching on the ground. He knows that she is much less likely to find him this way, unless she trips over him. Game theory is applied here because they are both trying to guess where the other will move. She wants to catch him; he doesn’t want to be caught. The boy clearly has an advantage over the girl because he can see her. The girl has to rely entirely on her other senses. This of course is what makes the game a thrill. If it wasn’t fun in some way, people wouldn’t play it.

Swans Reflecting Elephants - Salvador Dali

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This is one of Dali's most famous paintings. Salvador painted with a surrealist attitude. In other words, his works were meant to play with your mind and make you question reality. With this painting, Dali definitely accomplished that task. Upon first glance, you see swans swimming in the water. However, after you do a double take (like most surrealist works practically require), you see that the swans reflections look more like elephants. Dali created this as an illusion, or a mind game. You are supposed to see two different things and get a little confused. Confusion is an important part of any good mind game.
To learn more about surrealism, click here.

Christina's World - Andrew Wyeth 

In this famous painting, Christina is seen laying in the grass. The grass that she is laying on is a lot darker than the grass that is surrounding the house. The house can be seen as the sanctuary from the evils of the world. White has often signified the good and pure parts of the world, while darker shades have often signified the evils of the world. Since Christina is laying on the darker grass, it could interpreted that she is in the part of the world that is evil and manipulative. She looks towards the safety of her home and yearns to be there. She finds that the manipulative world has hurt her, to the point where all she wants is the comfort of her family. 
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The False Mirror - Rene Magritte

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This painting depicts someone looking into a mirror and seeing something different than what is really true. He has just been manipulated, and he looks in the mirror to see what that person has done to him. This "false mirror" is showing him what he used to see the world as. The world used to be bright and and beautiful - the sky was clear, the weather was nice, and everything was just perfect. When he realizes that this world is now gone, he begins tearing. It seems as if Magritte purposely painted in excess water in the corner of this person's eye, showing that he is on the verge of tears. The deception and manipulation of the world and the mind games that people constantly play on him has made him upset, and he realizes the world isn't as perfect as he thought. 

The Scream - Edvard Munch

In The Scream, we see a person clearly letting off some steam. He seems stressed and tired of dealing with all the problems in his life. It is a feeling that most of us are familiar with (especially those of us in 10P). Sometimes life just gets to be too much; it seems too overwhelming to handle. The man in this painting looks like he is definitely a victim of a mind game or two. Maybe he is tired of people always manipulating  and playing with his head, so he needed to get away and alleviate some of his stress by going to a remote place and just scream it off. It is similar to when a person gets angry or annoyed and screams into their pillow to express their feelings when they have no other way. This man seems lonely, so maybe screaming was the only way for him to get out his desperate, hurt feelings that resulted from a mind game being played on him. 
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The Thinker - Auguste Rodin

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In this version of "The Thinker", this man seems to be distraught. It seems as if he is contemplating the injustices of the world. The look on his face is not just that of someone concentrating, but that of someone who is hurt and confused. He is trying to figure out why people manipulate and deceive him. He is confused because he thought that the world was pure and good. He is remembering the times as a kid when he would be playful and free. Now he is stuck in his adulthood, thinking and wondering why the world is like this. 

Untitled - Rosemarie Trockel

This painting obviously depicts Pinocchio from the classic 1940s Disney movie. Pinocchio is a liar that learns that lying isn't always the best way to get out a situation. The blue fairy in the movie teaches Pinocchio that lying is immoral. If you lie, there will be several consequences. We should all learn from Pinocchio. We should try to tell the truth most of the time. 
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Friend in Need - C.M. Coolidge

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This looks like another one of those paintings where the dogs are just playing poker, doesn't it? Well, when we look closer we see that this picture is deeper than that. It shows the cheating attitudes of people trying to trick others. We see that Pitbull in the front of the picture trying to give a card to the dog next to him. Why does he feel it's necessary to lie to and trick the other players. Those two dogs are going to cheat the other players and make themselves win. They are lying for their own benefit. The dog in the middle back, has his eyes looking at the other dogs, making sure that they are not looking at his cards or cheating. After being exposed to manipulation in the world, he knows that not all people are moral. He is watching out for the other players, but is missing the cheating that is going on in front of him. 

The Terrace - David MacDonald

At first glance, this picture looks like a normal picture, as if there is nothing wrong with it. When you do a double take though, you realize the impossibility of this picture. From different perspectives, it will look differently. Are the people in this painting looking down or up? The answer is neither up or down. Both groups of people can't possibly be looking in either direction. This terrace is playing a game with you. There is no way that this terrace could exist. 
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A Puzzling Reality - Rob Gonsalves

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This is yet another interesting illusion. The puzzle on the floor seems to be life size, almost the same size as the real boy on the floor. Puzzles are items that are put together and taken apart by other people; obviously the puzzle doesn't do itself. The artist is inferring that we as humans are just part of a big puzzle. We sometimes let other people put us together and then take us apart, or manipulate us. The people in the puzzle are real humans, but they have let people push them around their whole lives so they are no longer in control of their actions and being. They are at the will of the boy kneeling on the floor.

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