The Piece By Nick Heading

The aura in the crowded, silent room expressed only one meaning...suspense. All upon the walls of the brightly lit room were canvases featuring many different forms of artwork. But still, that just didn't do justice for the exquisite works of art. They portrayed all of the beautiful scenes of the world, from rolling hills with fields of flowers, to the gigantic waves with sparkling white foam atop their watery mountains.

This was the Dijon Art Festival, and the awards for the best works of art were being handed out. All of the prestigious awards had already been given, and all there was left for the artists to win was the "Sentimental Meaning award" and the "Clay Sculpture 3rd place award". The audience in the room held their breath, or so it seemed. The judge of the show then went over the entries that still had a chance to win an award, slowly eliminating all of the other artworks until there were two remaining that could win. One canvas depicted a little boy, standing on a cliff, looking down to a lake. This portrait displayed bright colours except upon the little boy who was looking down at the water; a sullen expression across his face.

The other depicted a piece of decaying parchment that was nailed to the wall by a feather. Upon the parchment was one word..."Then". This painting was very strange; the colours were smudged, and the shading from the feather and piece of paper were very dark, all of which combined to express quite a lot of thrill and depression. The judge decided that this mysterious and enigmatic painting with the piece of paper should win the award. A dark skinned man in a khaki shirt and turquoise trousers walked forward and the prepared to make his speech.

But before the artist of the mysterious painting had time to draw a breath, all across the room journalists, artists and curious onlookers made sounds of obvious confusion. Ushers attempted to stem the flow of questions, but it was too late. "Sir, what is the true meaning behind this piece of art?" questioned one journalist. "Yes, why have you painted something with no obvious meaning?" asked another artist. The painter silenced for quite before he started.

"Well, I can see here that quite obviously you are confused by what the meaning is behind my piece of art. Well, to win this award, you must have a sentimental meaning behind the work. The very paint, the very ink within this painting, is what is carrying the meaning that has allowed me to win this award. With my entry the interpretation is, the one single notion can carry a million meanings. We each see this differently, and so the meanings are limitless. You may be expecting more of a definite meaning, yet I feel that my approach is what makes the painting unique... Thank you."

Everyone applauded, and agreed with the artist, for it did have more than one meaning. There was a meaning for everyone...whoever, whenever and wherever the piece was viewed. A single drop of ink is able to carry a million meanings.


The End