Today, I noticed when the class was trying to decide what the three focal points of the Mona Lisa were, the background of the painting was taken into account. I never would’ve thought to include the background into deciding focal points but it makes sense. Looking at the picture now, the three different terrains help the observer decide the focal points. The lighter background, which consists of the sky, the forest, and the river leading into the ocean, accompany the first focal point. The second focal point includes the dry, mysterious land our class spent some time describing earlier in the discussion. The third focal point doesn’t have much of a background but it is even darker, almost blending in with the subject’s clothes.

One student mentioned that the complexity of the background compliments the simplicity of the subject. Even though many people, including myself don’t find the subject “simple”, the observation ties into why this painting has stood the test of time. The background is indeed complex; different types of geological features, chaotic formations, and varying colors. This helps the viewer focus, unconsciously, on the subject’s face.

When we began talking about how to approach art, we discussed our favorite scenes from movies. More specifically, we spoke about how in movies, directors will make a slight pause after important lines to evoke an emotion in us the first few times we watch the movie. After watching the movie many times, this pause can become awkward. I realized this when I thought of one of my favorite films, the Breakfast Club. A memorable line from the movie is, “Screws fall out all the time, the world’s an imperfect place”, and there is a slight pause that is almost undetected except that an angry principal who was previously shouting wouldn’t make such a pause when dealing with a troublesome student talking back.