Art like this other art - knowing what you want

April 13, 2022 9:49 AM

I really love this Hans Holbein painting, with the inscription translating to "and so I let desire carry me along." I'd like to find more art that expresses the idea of listening to what you want - another example is Mary Oliver's poem Wild Geese. All media welcome, although this is motivated by wanting a physical object that conveys this message. I've searched the Latin phrase from the painting / Petrarch, what I'm looking for is this theme rather than things based on these exact examples.
posted by momus_window to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Maybe Jenny Joseph's Poem "Warning" would suit? It's kind of been co-opted by the Red Hat Society, a social club for older women, and it's more about the kind of "I'mma do what I want" freedom aging can provide - but it's very much still about that "I'mma do what I want" spirit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:11 AM on April 13, 2022

Maybe Yeats' The Lake Isle of Innisfree? It's not as direct as the Mary Oliver poem, but for me, the general idea is there. YMMV of course.

If I wanted a physical object to represent this particular poem, I'd search Etsy for art with bees.
posted by FencingGal at 11:35 AM on April 13, 2022

Thanks for these! They both capture a part of what I want, but I guess there's just not a lot of art that's specifically about "want what you want, whatever that is for you is good" rather than "this is the particular thing that I, the author, desire, and by implication maybe you want something, too." I poked around after Plato's chariot allegory, which informs the Holbein painting, and also didn't find anything.

I am already, unrelatedly, trying to wear more colors and spend more time watching birds. : )
posted by momus_window at 9:08 AM on May 2, 2022