Holidays such as Thanksgiving possess unparalleled societal significance because they transcend personal relevance, creating shared traditions that can be celebrated by anyone. Thanksgiving remains a national classic because its core values — gratitude, hospitality, humility, and appreciation for nature — resonate with people from all walks of life. While exploring artworks for an article about Thanksgiving, I noticed how different pieces evoked emotions, feelings, and memories uniquely tied to this holiday. Thus, I came to the conclusion that it may be a novel idea to observe the relationship between the composition of the visual art pieces I observe, the sensory connections they evoke, and their association with the Thanksgiving holiday. I believe that our memories are generated by a connection between a subject and the sensory experiences we relate to it. Accordingly, art allows us to make unique observations and reflections on our feelings, perceptions, values, and experiences in relationship to those sensory cues.
When I initially think about Thanksgiving, my mind immediately associates this holiday with warm colors. Despite Thanksgiving being a November holiday, for some, it marks the transition between the Fall and Winter. Personally favoring the Fall and Winter over the Spring and Summer months, my color association with winter is not very playful. I find winter to be quite dark and gray, generating a lot of diluted blue and golden tones in my mind. Similarly, I associate Thanksgiving’s color palette with the state of nature: the leaves are changing colors, root vegetables make their annual appearance, spices fill the air, and the golden ray of early morning sunshine glistens on the landscape. Oddly, while observing the work of Paul Gauguin, Thanksgiving started to take shape in my mind. Gauguin typically painted in the post-impressionist style, which emphasized personal emotion, bright colors, and abstract forms. The color red, in particular, seemed to speak to me at the moment, calling on its color variations of orange and brown to evoke strong memories of Fall and Thanksgiving imagery. In Gauguin’s work, he frequently uses the color red to enhance the composition of his subject and the landscape. He incorporates it into his still-lifes, portraits, and landscapes to seemingly provide dimension to his otherwise flat paintings. Furthermore, this enhances the familiarity of the characters and scenes, likely because of the association of the color red with warmth. In a similar way, I am reminded of the feeling of homeliness, order, and relaxation.
The warm feeling of Gauguin’s painting suddenly diverts my mind to a homely setting, and I begin searching for wooden installation pieces. I came across Richard Serra’s “Torqued Ellipses,” a minimalist art installation featuring towering spirals of weathered steel. While these sculptures are made of weathered steel and maintain an industrial composition, they remind me of sculptures I’d observed outside the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., when visiting with family and friends in the past. A wave of nostalgia passes over me as I make a connection in my mind, but I am further reminded of the influence of the art piece on generating this feeling. Minimalist artwork provides an opportunity to focus on the moment by observing something so simplistic it forces you to reflect inwardly on its representation in your mind. The feeling of Thanksgiving is also there; I picture myself alone within the tall walls of the Serra’s industrial spirals. It is incredibly humbling; I am insignificant amongst steel walls surrounding me, suddenly reminded of the vastness of the world. There is so much negative space in the spiral, and I wish to fill it with the people who are important to me and hold significance in my life. I am filled with a sense of gratitude, happiness, and support, reminiscent of gathering around a Thanksgiving table to share a meal with family and friends.
In conclusion, the sensory connections evoked by art offer a unique means through which we can reflect on holidays like Thanksgiving and their deeper significance to us emotionally. From Gauguin’s warm, vivid color palette to the minimalism of Richard Serra’s towering spirals, these artistic interpretations inspire us to revisit memories, emotions, and values tied to the season. Art, much like Thanksgiving itself, encourages introspection and fosters a deeper appreciation for the relationships and moments that shape our lives.
