Inside Out and Upside Down
Just over 57 years ago, on October 18, 1961, the Museum of Modern Art in New York launched a new exhibition entitled, “The Last Works of Matisse.”
Among the pieces on display was Le Bateau, a paper-cut abstract of a sailboat and its reflection that was, apart from being made during the final years of Henri Matisse’s life, pleasant but altogether unremarkable.
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18700756
Except, someone did remark on it.
After 47 days on display, during which over 100,000 visitors came and went, a Wall Street stockbroker named Genevieve Habert noticed something incredibly unusual and spoke up:
The piece was upside down.
After some initial pushback from Museum representatives, it was indeed confirmed the piece was intended to be displayed the other way.
“Matisse would never put the more complex motif on the bottom and the lesser on top,”
Habert told the New York Times.
Now that’s some attention to detail.
The Stripes that Aren’t
I made a similar mistake this year, but haven’t yet been caught. In that way, I suppose I’m turning myself in.
Prior to the start of this tour I purchased a handful of new pocket silks to spice up my suits. One in particular caught my eye, seen here: A beautiful cross-striped pattern on blue that pairs well with virtually everything I own. I’ve worn it during many live presentations these past few months, and one photoshoot.
And then one day in the green room prior to a speech, it occurred to me: I’d been wearing the silk inside out. Worn as intended, this silk is in fact a simple, bland, white polka dot on royal blue. It seems I’d been making a fool of myself for months. Or had I?
Seeing Things Differently
We often discover or rediscover the beauty in something by looking at it from a different perspective. This is true of art, of course, but also of relationships, which are a kind of art in their complexity and subjectivity. True again of our jobs, which even when seemingly exciting, run the risk of feeling rote and dull on a day-to-day basis.
Seeing things from a different perspective – whether intentionally or not – can do us a world of good, both at home and at work. Had the Museum never hung Le Bateau upside down, I likely never would have heard of it. I’m guessing neither would you.
Sometimes mistakes are simply mis-takes: a chance to view something banal in a new, exciting light.
I still wear the silk inside out. And who’s to say that’s not the right way to look at it?
