Introduction

           With the five senses that God gave man, people are able to perceive their surroundings that trigger our feelings or what we call today, emotions. In addition to the physical aspects of the senses, the senses have also been a central aspect of man’s emotions. Our daily lives are filled with emotions of all kinds ranging from anger to happiness to sadness. How the senses of man affect our human emotions have been essential to our existence and are central today to how people interact with other people. 

Touch-"Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo(1511)

Touch

            The famous Michelangelo painted the “Creation of Adam” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1511(Norwich, 293).  It was painted during the Renaissance when religion played a dominant role in society. The painting displays the relationship between God and Mankind. The painting directly correlates with a scripture in the first chapter in the Bible, Genesis (“Creation of Adam). The scripture, Genesis 1:36-27 states “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” From his vision, God formed man into what he saw as beautiful (“Creation of Adam”). A significant role of our beauty comes in the form of touch. 

             Within this painting, there exists symbolism that significantly shows how touch affects people’s life. Through intricate detail, Adam’s body holds himself in a calm, careless composure, while God on the other side is passionately reaching out to plant the breath of life into man (“Creation of Adam”). This is emphasizing the importance of their fingers touching. Also, interpreting Adam’s facial expression, he is not passionate. With his beautiful body, his attitude shows that he doesn’t really need God. When they touch, it symbolizes the bond between God and Man being built for the first time (“The Creation of Adam”). That bond represents the unity and connection people have with other people today. From a different perspective, touch is how we absorb feeling from each other and how we plant life into one another. Relating to the “Creation of Adam”, as they touch, Adam would receive strong emotions of security and love from God, and God would feel joy in being reunited with mankind. As emotions play such an active role in man’s life, it produces a range of consequences; will men work happily together or engage in warfare with one another. Our ability to touch and its role on our emotions has determined how we connect and interact with the millions of people in this world.

Sight-"The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich(1818)

Sight

Caspar David Friedrich painted the “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” in 1818 during the Romantic Period. The Romantic Period was mainly about striving for true “self-expression” that came by physical and spiritual solitude (Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog). During this era, Romantic artists believed that one needed to leave urban society in order to explore emotions. As a result, Friedrich left the urban society in order to show self-expression (The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog). Friedrich was able to show self-expression through his specialty, landscape. Incorporated in his landscape, the artist paints himself as the man to enable and invite the viewer to see the artists’ vision from the artists’ perspective (The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog).

            The artist has a powerful vision, that he wants the viewers to notice. Observing the title of the painting, the artist labels the wanderer as above the fog. Fog can represent the reality of world that inevitably clogs one’s vision. Friedrich infers that the only and true path to see and be free of blindness, one has to journey above the fog. From the top, the view is beautiful with the bright sky and the large mountain in the distance giving off feelings of happiness and glory. Being above the fog strengthens our ability to see and find what we search. In this case, Friedrich is searching for beauty that emanates emotions of happiness and hope. With human sight, people are capable of interpreting their surroundings that radiate certain emotions.

Taste-The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci (1498-1495)

Taste

            Leonardo DaVinci painted the “Last Supper” in 1495 (Da Vinci). Leonardo’s use of perspective in his work reflects how Jesus is the vanishing point (Da Vinci). With Jesus in the center of the painting, Jesus’ facial expression affects the painting around him. The Last Supper was the last meal Jesus consumed with his disciples before he was crucified. During this dinner, Jesus told his disciples to eat bread and drink wine, symbolizing his body and blood. Jesus’ intention of this was to be remembered in their lives. This is what Christians today call communion. Jesus uses the connection to food as a way to relate a daily action of man to what he tried to instill in his disciples: remembering their Lord, which ultimately brings emotional peace.

            The disciples ate food that represented Jesus’ body, and this is still a practice in many denominations of the Christian church in the act of taking communion. Communion is a serious time to dedicate to remembering the Lord and that he died on the cross for man’s sins. As people thank Jesus for his sacrifice by eating bread and wine, the spiritual experience is strong and everlasting. This is an example of a spiritual feeling given by food. This is also a very emotional act because when one does communion, they thank God with all their heart. Once one has sincerely thanked Jesus, they can feel peace in their lives. With such a simple sense like to taste, one can be affected in a very strong emotional way.

Smell-"Stormtroops Advancing Under Gas" by Otto Dix (1924)

Smell

            Otto Dix is an artist with a very graphic vision of war. His art portrays the inhumanity that man inflicts on man (The Art of War). Dix created a collection of art, Der Kreig, that specifically focuses on war. One of his art pieces is “Stormtroops advancing under gas”. It was created as an etching in 1942 that has since created a profound effect on the twentieth century. It is seen as “one of the most powerful indictments of war ever conceived” (The Art of War). Others artists like Pablo Picasso and Robert Motherwell, were influenced by Dix’s vivid visions of war. Observing this etching, feelings of horror result from the destruction man performed in World War II. 

            This work of art portrays how soldiers know that gas will be used in battle, and thus they prepare for the worst by protecting themselves with gas masks (The Art of War). They “smell” something bad about to happen, thus they perceive that if they don’t wear the gas masks, they will end up wounded like their enemies. Other than the fact that we use smell to enjoy, we also use the sense of smell to warn us of our surroundings and interpret what is good or bad for us. Observing the etching, feelings of hatred and evil are aroused by the darkness and grimness. The soldiers are savagely killing people with the gas while their masks protect them. With their protection, the attitude of the soldiers is ruthless in killing everybody as long as they are safe. When they kill, they appear to have no conscience, and it also appears that they are not affected by the horrible deeds they are committing. The emotional experience that smell provides can be very influential in one’s life.

Hear-"The Old Guitarist" by Pablo Picasso (1903)

Hearing

Pablo Picasso, a passionate Spanish artist, created the famous painting, The Old Guitarist, in Madrid in1903. The Old Guitarist is an example of the Symbolist Movement, which was a literary and artistic movement sparked by French Poets during the 19^th century (The Old Guitarist). Symbolist’s artists’ intentions were to express the individual emotional experience. Picasso completed The Old Guitarist directly after one of his friends, Casagemas, committed suicide. The distorted figure of the man’s body represents the less fortunate who endure hardships like his friend, Casagemas, and himself as he struggled through poverty in 1902 (The Old Guitarist). The guitar seems important to the elderly, weak man in the painting as he holds his guitar close to him, playing softly. During the symbolist movement, blind characters were believed to have been given powers of inner vision by a higher power (The Old Guitarist). The old man seems to be intensely, inwardly satisfied with music, which makes him oblivious to the world around him. As long as he can listen to the music he plays, he is at peace. The focus of the painting is centered on the guitar as the guitar serves as the center of the man’s life and escape from reality.

            We perceive life and everything around us through each of the 5 senses. This is how they play a strong, effective role in our lives. The sense to hear is one of the essential senses God gave man. The ability to hear has determined and affected our human experience today since the beginning of time. It permits us to understand thus communicate with one another. As a human race, we hear and listen to one another and that is how we survive and progress in this world. If we weren’t given the privilege to hear by God, we would be deprived of the beauty and importance that hearing brings. A beautiful form of noise that people enjoy to hear is music. The deep feeling reflected in the painting reveals the influence that the ability to hear has on our emotions. To this man, the passion and pain expressed in the man’s face seems to have caused him to age and become lifeless. The inhumane body structure of the man emphasizes the great importance of his music because it shows that even with his deformity he continues to play. The old man’s way out is to play his guitar and listen. The sensation he receives from the music appears to relieve him from his troubles. His music serves him in a way of pleasure and need. Music has become a main component of entertainment for mankind because it provokes different emotions like happiness, sadness, inspiration, etc. In the painting, the elderly man depends on his music, listening intently because the resulting emotions help him to survive. It almost feels like if this man did not have his guitar, he would be deprived of beauty, and would have no purpose in living.

Basketball in My Life

         This is a picture I took in honor of my favorite sport, basketball, that is central to my life. This outdoor court is located on the Webb campus behind the Upper Dorms where I have frequently gone to play basketball. In everybody's life, there is one or many things, hobbies, or activities that people enjoy doing because it is dear to them, affecting them emotionally. For me, my hobby is basketball. This picture portrays the importance of basketball in my life and produces emotions that inspire me. The sun shining on the ball shows how basketball is my light giving me comfort and warmth on a clear beautiful day. A clear day is the perfect day to play basketball because it is not too hot or cold but just beautiful to play basketball outside. Behind the ball, the basket is towering high above the ball. This shows that basketball provides a challenge every time I play, so I strive to play my best. In a sense relating to the "Old Man's Guitar", basketball is my guitar, my escape from reality. This picture truly provides a complete feeling of how basketball has emotionally affected my life.

Works Cited

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