Chiaroscuro is the Italian word for light-dark. Wikipedia says chiaroscuro 'is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body'.
The concept or theme of light/dark is dominant throughout history in areas of religion, morality, ethics, and science, just to mention a few. I think that the comparison between light and dark, or good and evil, or happy and sad, is an inexhaustible area of study. And don't we always experience one in comparison to the other? Isn't our happiness felt in contrast to sadness that we have previously felt? Don't we treasure wellbeing moreso after a period of illness? Don't we feel fortunate when comparing ourselves to others' hardship? In some instances, we yearn to experience the opposite - we tire of Winter and yearn for Summer, or we tire of the heat and wish for cooler weather. I think there is always a tension between these two polar states.
The concept or theme of light/dark is dominant throughout history in areas of religion, morality, ethics, and science, just to mention a few. I think that the comparison between light and dark, or good and evil, or happy and sad, is an inexhaustible area of study. And don't we always experience one in comparison to the other? Isn't our happiness felt in contrast to sadness that we have previously felt? Don't we treasure wellbeing moreso after a period of illness? Don't we feel fortunate when comparing ourselves to others' hardship? In some instances, we yearn to experience the opposite - we tire of Winter and yearn for Summer, or we tire of the heat and wish for cooler weather. I think there is always a tension between these two polar states.
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It's difficult to appreciate the good times when we have them - one of life's constant dilemmas.This time of the year is not ideal for those who have a delicate mood balance, all this cold and darkness. But then Christmas/summer time can also be a time of extreme duress for a lot of people.I appreciated your Chiaroscuro intro to this post - very intriguing.
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