Giorgio de Chirico and Complexity

Giorgio de Chirico, 1914,
The Nostalgia of the Poet

According to Kit White, "Complexity derives from the presence of contradiction.  To simplify may be to render a false condition and therefore an incomplete description.  Embrace the irreconcilable elements, the contradictions.  They are part of any portrait of a moment."  Wikipedia states that, "Giorgio de Chirico; (July 10, 1888 – November 20, 1978) was a Greek-born Italian artist. In the years before World War I, he founded the scuola metafisica art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists."  Life is complex, even our human body is complex and science doesn't even understand everything about it.  So it is natural that artist's work could be filled with complexity and contradiction.  Dreams, which influenced the surrealists, are filled with mystery and complexity.  So this can come together in an artwork through the use of the conscious and unconscious mind, and what we get can often blow our minds.  Enjoy!