Artist of Persuasion

As you flip through your brand new addition of People magazine you find yourself being bombarded with pictures and ads of slender women and chiseled jaw-lined men. Their bodies are amazing, their faces are ageless, and in their hand they are promoting a product that is the ultimate “must-have”. You soon find yourself giving into the persuasive couple and buying the product. We have all come to a point in our lives where art has influenced our decision, whether it be in buying a certain hair product or signing up for an organization. It is the art that the artist produced that lured us into wanting to own or be apart of something.

In the novel An Artist of the Floating World, Ishiguro gives us a character by the name of Ono who crosses the line from being an artistic painter of beauty and perfection to an artist who promotes nationalism and pride.  In the beginning we see that Ono was painting portraits of timeless and ageless geishas.  Each picture captured a moment that was perfect and beautiful in its own way. 

Later on, we find this character being able to find his place in society by leaving his past paintings and starting something that is more tangible and that gives more purpose. Ono comes to realize that even though the geisha paintings are great works of art, they do not have meaning or purpose behind them. Ono feels that he can help his country by painting pictures that will unite the country as a whole. “I have learnt many things over these past years. I have learnt much in contemplation the world of pleasure, and recognizing its fragile beauty. But I now feel it is time for me to progress to other things. Sensei, it is my belief that in such troubled times as these, artists much learn to value something more tangible than those pleasurable things that disappear with the morning light.” (180).

We then see our main character change his technique from majestic geishas to fierce soldiers. He further goes onto making paintings that have bold, vibrant colors and sharp images of strong men in uniform. On the bottom there is a saying encouraging citizens to rise up and giving them a feeling of nationalism.

When comparing the two pictures, we can see that they both resemble art in two distinctly different ways. I feel that one is not technically better than the other, but I feel that it demonstrates the power and talent of the artist. In one painting he is showing pleasure that only lasts for a moment and gives the on-looker the feeling of serenity and beauty. In the faces of the painted characters, you can see the emotion that each one individually has, giving the observer to have their own opinion of what is going on. Yet in the second painting, we see a much bolder side of the artist. We see that he has changed his technique and is able to bring out pride and persuasion to the observer. Before, the geisha paintings had many different emotions whereas now the paintings have one strong image or multiple images that have the same expression. Even though both paintings are full of emotion and feeling, one is more persuasive than the other and is only one-sided when it comes to opinion.

I feel that artists play a very powerful role in society. They have the ability to have someone enjoy a beautiful painting and let them have their own opinion on what the artist is trying to say, or they can persuade their observer into buying a certain product. In today’s society, art is mainly seen through advertising and is usually only one-sided (just as Ono’s post-war paintings). Not all art is persuasive, but I feel that the majority of what our society is exposed to is very influential. They have the talent to lure the observer into their product and get them thinking about the bigger picture.