"Hoopla", Fine Art Limited Edition, 43” x 26.5” H

ow does one go about understanding a work of art? Many people get caught up in whether or

not there is a “right way” or a “wrong way” to interpret a painting. Certainly, the artist may have had intentions for their painting, but the end result is a two-way conversation. For Michael Summers, art is about engaging in that conversation and giving the viewer permission to make interpretive leaps. “By taking everyday objects and imagery and putting them in a new context, I encourage people to take another look at the world around them,” he says. “After all, our everyday lives are filled with wonder, beauty, and magic, if only we allow our eyes to see it.”

So many of his works of art are created to convey happiness. When asked, “How does it make you feel?” Most people respond, “Happy.” So what in particular can make a painting happy?

One of Summers’ latest paintings, Hoopla, is a perfect example. The Clockworkman, an automaton, should seemingly remain emotionless and stiff. However, he raises his arms in joy and makes no effort to disguise his beaming, open-mouthed smile. Somehow, in this universe contained within a frame and set free by imagination, the Clockworkman partners with a colorful white tiger, followed overhead by a rainbow-cloud of butterflies. The brilliance in the art of Michael Summers is that it is free of a rigid, stable mindset. His surrealism juxtaposes

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“By taking everyday objects and imagery and putting them in a new context, I encourage people to take another look at the

world around them.” color and monochrome, living and nonliving. The differences that deviate so absurdly from the norm show how the artist notices new things, stays in the present, and ultimately achieves a result of happiness. As a viewer, we look at the painting and see that there are deviations from reality. If those deviations are done purposefully, as they are in art, we look for metaphors and try to interpret their meaning. In doing so, we have to make guesses and explore multiple possibilities until we decide on which meaning makes the most sense. In the process, however, the viewer has opened himself up to seeing the art in a myriad of new ways.

OFF THE EASEL MAGAZINE – SPRING 2015