Another article on “This is not a pipe”
As I saw this painting by Renne Magriett, the first thing that came to my mind that when I see such paintings is that why is so much fuss created around such paintings, why is it that so many people talk about it, why is it treated with so much importance, why is it that even after the artist’s death his painting is so famous all around the world.
It is the philosophy portrayed by these artists through their works. Imagine if the painting had no text or said “This is a pipe” would it be paid so much attention in that case. I feel it is human psychology to heed more attention to unusual things and find a reason why is it so. Casually if I try to comprehend this painting, to me it seems that if it's not a pipe then what is it? And I tried to decode the painting as if it had a hidden meaning to it. Is the object not a pipe, it is something else too when inverted, is it a dual image? Or the artist is trying to say that “This not a pipe”, it is whatever he wishes it to be as he is its creator. Or maybe he has intended a pun in the sentence itself, maybe he is saying this is not a regular pipe, it’s a cigar pipe. Is the artist trying to point out something or is it just an attempt to play with language, the signs. Maybe he is saying “This is not just a pipe”, it is more than a pipe to him maybe a feeling or a memory attached which makes the object, not a mere object.
Looking at the painting with a broader perspective and relating it with language and semiotics it seems as if Renne through his work is trying to convey that how our mind tries to link the image of what we see to our mind what already knows. It is a surrealist work that aimed to shake up how society used to see, think, and experience things. According to Magritte if he had written ‘This is a pipe’, he had been lying then because one can not actually stuff it and smoke, it was a representation of a pipe and not an actual pipe. Thus, his word inspires us to take things literally. It is also a rhetorical comment on how that statement forces people to attach different meanings to the painting according to their own perspectives and that is what Magritte is trying to convey about language here. The painting is intended to question reality. after seeing this, we tend to question do we really know what things actually are, hence we move towards an open mind and observing things like never before. It also points out the fact that signs are arbitrary. circumstantial and conventional. To me, he appears as a philosopher who is trying to express a simple idea to the society through his work .
