Golcanda

Golconda Art Work

This piece of art, titled “Golconda” was painted by a Belgian surrealist René Magritte. This piece is supposed to be raining men that are all identical. Magritte was very interested in the seductiveness of it, while it is a fun painting, it also makes us aware of the fiction of representation. One thought is that he was trying to show the line between being one, and being a group, and how complicated that line is.  

My very initial reaction was literally “what the hell”, as it makes no sense at all first thing. It seems like a scene you would see in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs or some alien invasion. 

One story it may tell is that all of the men seem to be an exact copy. Everyone’s the same. But in reality, if you look close, some of them are turned a bit and others are blurry. You can’t quite make out the faces of the ones in the far back. And the setting of the painting, in the middle of a town makes it all the more interesting.

When staring at this, my senses that are initially evoked are my sight of course. It almost looks like some sort of optical illusion or something. But after a while, it turns into confusion, and I can almost imagine feeling the men as bumps on a piece of paper. Some are bigger and some are smaller. 

The senses that this image engages are 

• Sight: I just keep seeing a bunch of floating guys

• Hear: If I were in this image, It would probably be very noisy with the sound of men chattering to one another. But then again, maybe it would be completely silent as if they were frozen in time.
• Smell: This image does not give off any scent to me, but typically men either smell like cologne of some sort or sweat and odor.
• Taste: I can’t think of any possible taste or flavor to give to these men

So I ask you to ask yourself. What does this image mean or represent to you?