When The World Needs To Stop

Sometimes I become quite overwhelmed with all the things I should have done, all the tiny bits and pieces that demands attention in order to have a private and working life run relatively smoothly. When things pile up I get this urge to halt and take some steps back, attempting to view things from a distance and to get a better grip of what is going on, what to do next. In the hurly-burly of everyday life, I often forget what holds a deeper significance to me, the ever-flowing stream of activities I have to engage in makes me numb to the deeper and more interesting aspects of existence. This is when I start to think about this woodcut by Félix Vallotton, La paresse, or ‘Laziness’ in English.

Félix Edouard Vallotton (1865–1925) was a Swiss/French artist who employed both painting, woodcuts, sculptures and writing in his work. In his paintings, he typically depicted still life and female nudes, and also made some portraits. However, Vallotton is most renowned for his contribution to the art of woodcuts, which he helped develop into a modern form of expression. He showed the artistic strengths of woodcuts, contributing to the status of this technique as a legitimate medium for modern artists.

His woodcuts show stylistic «types» of people rather than «persons», and he avoided expressions of strong affective or emotional character. His works were spread in books and articles across the USA and Europe, and Norwegian artist Edvard Munch was among the people who gained inspiration from Vallotton’s work.

This type-like character that Vallotton emphasised, I think, makes his woodcuts universal. Due to the fact that much of the details concerning human expressions is omitted, the prints convey something timeless, something many, perhaps, can relate to.

The strange thing about the print above, is that it contains so many elements, the pillows, and bedsheet is cluttered with squares, curves, lines, dots, and still, the scene conveys this overwhelming calmness. The woman in her thought caressing the cat, having all the time in the world, provides for me a reminder that life holds moments like that. I believe that those moments of care-free and low-pace living are important, where we come closer to taking notice of existence itself. Just appraising—contemplating—what it means to exist.

In fact, it was from this kind of idleness that philosophy itself started to grow. When humans in Ancient Greece—through division of labour and better tools—gained a greater freedom from nature, the spare time could be used to investigate nature and the human way of life. There is some value in having the opportunity to engage in leisure activities, both for the body and for the intellect. It is, I think, an investment in the future.

Picture, Film & Music

To me, the calmness that the print by Vallotton conveys is reminiscent of the film Ammonite from 2020. Ammonite is a quiet and toned-down film, telling the story of two quite different women that, after spending some time together, find solace in each other’s company. This is a kind of film best watched alone, accompanied only by a glass of wine. The soundtrack is also absolutely soothing and stands well on its own feet. Dustin O’Halloran has done a fantastic job capturing stillness and emotion in music.

Just listen to this: