

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” is a quote by Thomas Merton (Merton, Thomas. N.P.). I truly believe in this quote. So, when I was selecting an image for this essay, I had one thing in mind that the picture I select should represent painter’s inner self and I should be able to find and lose myself in the piece of art that I choose. Therefore I chose a painting about “Yin Yang Peace.” It is a beautiful colorful painting with a Yin Yang symbol in the middle. The symbol is surrounded with yoga poses, Hindu Sanskrit words, symbols, and flowers those of which each represents some significance of peace. The art is a representation of the relationship that words, colors and symbols have with peace. I believe this art is trying to depict the Asian culture. After observing the picture, I was able to divide it into six parts; Colors, Flowers, Yoga poses, Symbols, Culture and religion.

“Yin Yan” symbol in the middle of the painting is an ancient Chinese symbol used to represent a widespread belief in unity, polarity, holism and magic (LoveToKnow. N.p.). The white and black colors represent the two different aspects of the world. If one is chaos so the other is peace, one is heaven so the other is hell, one is soft so the other is ruff, one is male so the other is female and etc. I think in this painting the painter used this symbol to show that in the society that we are living in always has two sides of everything. We as a being in this world have to face both consequences of a situation. Where there is positivity there is negativity. We can’t ignore the negative and only have positivity in our lives and vice versa. One has to learn to deal with both and live a peaceful life. The symbol also represents that you can never live in peace if you don’t know how to deal with negative because the negative is always going to be there.

I believe that one of the most important aspects of our lives is color. It has a major role in representing our personality, thoughts and emotions. The colors in the painting are trying to describe the variety of race and culture in the society. Like different colors have their own identity, each race and culture has their different individuality. They can never be compared to each other. And like each one of them gives different glow to the painting, each race and culture have their own shine in the world. “Color is a power which directly influences the soul” is beautiful quote by Wassily Kandinsky (Xplore, n.d.). Color in a painting can have a strong influence on the soul of the observer. 

Another thing I noticed in the painting was figures showing yoga poses. Yoga is a Hindu spiritual exercise. It has many definitions and meanings. It is a balanced development of a person’s physical, mental and spiritual being (Benefits of Yoga. N.p.). In this painting, all the poses represent inner satisfaction and peace. It shows some practices that can take you away from all your problems and negativity in life. It is compared to the negative part of the Yin Yang symbol. It is trying to represent that although there is negativity in the world, there are some ancient practices that can help one deal with it. It takes one away from rest of the world for some time. In that time a person can analyze their life and see the directions in which they are going to.

I also see Om icon in the painting. Om is a spiritual icon in Indian religion. It is also a mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism (Yoga With Subhash. N.P). It is mostly used to meditate by pronouncing the sound as AUM. Om again is a symbol of peace in the society, in this painting it represent peace and the power of meditation. By using this symbol the painter is also representing the Asian society as this symbol is mostly used in Buddhism and Hinduism. I believe that the painter is also trying to link this to the positive side of the Yin Yan symbol. I also noticed that above every Om sign is a statue of Buddha. Buddha believed that all living being has the same basic wish, which is to be happy and avoid suffering. Again by painting Buddha in the picture is shows happiness and peace. 

In conclusion, a quote from Edgar Degas, which says, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”( Xplore, n.d). Like in this painting and all other painting in the world, the painter has to describe a story in the form of pictures, colors and symbols. And I believe that it is not an easy job to do that. It is a power to be able to connect to people without using words. I believe Painting is a language of itself. People, who have the knowledge, can talk with art. Like in this painting the painter showed different culture, societies, thoughts and emotions with just the use of shapes and colors. It not only showed different aspects of life but also showed its significance. In the end all the art used in this painting somehow relates to the Yin Yang symbol in the middle. 
