Original artwork description:

Confucius he say: 'Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.' And who doesn't want a colorful - dare I say beautiful - quote from Confucius on their wall? It would certainly add a touch of class to that bare bit of alcove above the cocktail cabinet! Except, that is, for a couple of trifling questions: what does it mean, and did Confucius actually say it? (Not to mention: who stole the vowels?) If you Google this famous quote it will invariably be attributed to the Big C man, but I have also seen it credited to that other great man of ideas, Andy Warhol. And some informed commentators categorically deny a Chinese origin altogether. In Confucius' time of political upheaval life was hard and finding beauty in being dirt poor was quite a stretch. When it comes to beauty it seems that Confucius did say this: 'I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as he loves beauty'. This is quite a different quote to the original, akin to beauty being only skin deep. Clearly beauty is subjective - 'in the eye of the beholder' - but it is stretching subjectivity to the limits to find some loveliness in a rotting dog's carcass or a souffle that didn't rise. Ah well, back to the drawing board!

Materials used:

Acrylics

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