Over the weekend I went to an exhibition at Tate Britain of pictures by Peter Doig.
This is one example, called Blotter. Peter Doig says that "The title refers to (amongst other things) the notion of one's being absorbed into a place or landscape, and to the process through which the painting developed: soaking paint into the canvas."
It was a fascinating experience because the paintings evoked real nostalgia for Canada in me. Peter Doig was born in the UK, and spent significant time growing up in Canada. The paintings were mostly done while he was resident in the UK and some done in Trinidad where he now lives.
Blotter is fairly easy for anyone to deconstruct but most of his paintings do have enormous extra resonance for anyone who has lived in Central Canada. The subjects, the detail, the use of reflection on water all provoked intense reactions from my wife and myself. I doubt that they will achieve the same effect for anyone who has not spent a lot of time there. It's that extra resonance that great marketing achieves and does evoke time and place. How about the iconic volkswagen print ads? The Apple 1984 TV ad? Everyone can relate to them, but they have an especially powerful effect on people who remember the original context.
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