Anyone who read Douglas Adams knows that number and the meaning. Who did not will just see the number.
The same thing (a number) can have very different meaning to us, depending on our background and our history. Any information is given meaning only in the moment that a subject is confronted with it and makes up her or his mind. Without a person, there is no meaning. That consequently means – meaning is subjective.
If you want to express something more with your art than the sheer visual appearance, you have to provide meaning. Very difficult, because the interpretation of what you show is obviously not up to you. But what you can do is try to translate of what you feel- you subjective interpretation of a scene – and try to express your feelings by using your visual toolbox. Will this convey what you meant to say?
You can not be sure.
But if the result of your craft is something that still resonates within you, at least you know that you are on the right path. With that approach you will not reach everyone, but you will reach the people who resonate in the same way. And that is the main goal. There are many artists that are not my personal taste (e.g. Helmut Newton), they do not provide any meaning to me. Others do. I follow those who provide meaning as their art makes sense to me. If we do things according to our inner voice – even if it seems to be a repetition of something hat has been said before – this is much better than to say nothing at all or to say things not authentically.
Your goal is to stick to your story and not try to be who you are not!
42 is always the right approach.
42
