Dorothy Rowe

Edvard Munch paintings Written by Dorothy Rowe and published in Hildon Magazine (Summer/Autumn 2005) The publication of this article has been timed to coincide with a major exhibition of Edvard Munch's paintings at London's Royal Academy(October - December 2005) Edvard Munch - his pictures were a means of understanding himself Often the swirl of emotions and thoughts inside us is hard to bear. We feel confused, uncertain, fearful that we are about to be overwhelmed by chaos or lose all control of ourselves. One way of dealing with this is to create some account of what is happening to us. We may talk to someone, or keep a diary, or turn our experience into a story, a poem, a play, a song or a picture. Taking what is inside us and putting it outside helps us manage, understand and contain our experience. Turning our experience into some artistic form is a defence, a way of holding ourselves together when we feel we are falling apart. Other people may find what we produce incomprehensible, or banal, or, at best, an explanation for our behaviour. What we produce is not art. However, if we are skilled, what we produce may be art,…