Posthumous Letter to Georgia OKeefe Essay -- Okeefe Aesthetic Argumen

Documented Aesthetic Argument Essay I Know You Were Misunderstood: A Posthumous Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe Dear Ms. O’Keeffe, May I call you Georgia? I feel as if I know you and so it seems too formal to address you as miss, but I guess neither of these choices matters because you are dead, unfortunately. Despite that minor detail, I had to address you to let you know†¦I know. I recently spent some time with your painting, Red Canna, and to echo one of your critics, â€Å"The huge blossoms demand respect and admiration, and they captivate viewers, forcing those who stand close enough to feel their presence† (Richter). And after literally â€Å"feeling their presence† and getting to know the work, I had to let you know that your secret is safe with me. I feel that you were sorely and irrevocably misunderstood. I think for decades, even during your lifetime when you were slowly becoming famous and making a name for yourself on the art scene, you were misunderstood. And you never said anything. Or if you did say something, it was hilariously harsh, like this quote, â€Å"I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your associations with flowers on my flower and you wrote about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see what you think and see of the flower-and I don’t † (Lynes). Establishing yourself as indifferent and above the gossip and speculation, you never said anything to clear the air of misconceptions. You never corrected the critics and the naysayers, and while I respect that, I wish you would have - because now it’s too late, and you’re still misunderstood. I think you let them all think you were independent. And for the most part, I’m sure you were ra... ...ome human, and distinctly female to me, I feel and understand your works in a different, and deeper way now. So, thank you for sharing yourself and your talent with me; it will be appreciated far beyond my lifetime, as it was yours. Sleep tight, Georgia. Your friend and awed admirer, -------- ------- Works Cited Amarillo Art Center. Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Contemporaries. Amarillo: Amarillo Art Center, 1985. Drohojowksa-Philp, Hunter. Full Bloom The Art and Life of Georgia O’Keeffe. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004. Lisle, Laurie. Portrait of an Artist A Biography of Georgia O’Keeffe. New York: Seaview Books, 1980. Lynes, Barbara Buhler. Georgia O’Keeffe and the Calla Lily in American Art, 1860-1940. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. Richter, Peter-Cornell. Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Munich: Prestel, 2001.