Matthias Duwel`s painting Consumer Consumption - Essay Example

It is evident from the study that Matthias Duwel, the author of the painting ‘Consumer Consumption’ has taken the opportunity of presenting his painting to discuss what the terms flux and stability mean to him with respect to his art and the environment around him. He states that flux is a constant state of dynamism where people keep moving from one place to another, whereas stability is a balanced state of mind which is rarely possible in the world we live in. Thus, flux is the reality that people are living within on a global scale.

The painting helps to show how everything in the world is in a constant state of flux, and thus out of control. One may see a series of homes right in the centre of the painting, whirling out in a chaos of colours that overpower the residences. This helps to show how people are constantly moving in order to keep themselves happy; they take up material aspects of life thinking that such a constant switch from one thing to another will help them to retain their interest in living. People do not pay heed to their emotions anymore on a frequent basis and need to be reminded of a time when ambition and desire were lesser mortals in the face of life and adversity.

With the growing desire for more and more, people have begun to destroy nature in order to feed their hunger for avarice and are not able to remember the simple things that life has to offer to them. Urban populace is growing day by day, wiping out all strands of the green and lush environment; as shown in the painting, all kinds of material objects are growing out of the few trees on the planet, which are subsequently decreasing in number and size. Moreover, the depiction of size of the homes and plants in comparison to the array and myriad of colours and objects may also be a reference to importance people give to these aspects rather than worrying about their ‘roots’.

In this work of Matthias Duwel’s, the populist idea of a free, orderly and stable society has completely been deconstructed, giving way to individualism, free thinking as well as self determination. However at the same time, this constant state of flux is almost even more constantly obstructed by disasters that nature strikes upon man. For example, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons and floods are all natural disasters that strike from time to time, a way of nature telling man that it is probably tired of the pressure that has been put on its resources.

Nature cannot be taken for granted anymore, because otherwise the potential hazard of man becoming extinct will soon also become a reality. In conclusion, the fragmented landscape depicted in Duwel’s painting is a reminder for people to understand the concept of abundance. Strips of malls and other facilities are more common these days than looking at trees planted on a boulevard and thus, in order to stop this injustice, people need to stop and pay heed to these things that actually make up life rather than succumbing to their callous ways.

Thus, the focus of this art pieces has shifted from decaying urbanity to the growth and hubris that man survives within these days and calls ‘comfort’