Here's what the artist commented about his work to Bored Panda: “My name is Hassan Hassnaoui, I am 21 years old and I do art. I am inspired by everyday life that people consider ordinary and small problems that they consider obstacles. My art is simply composed of series of collages that merge between real-life photographs and characters inspired by ancient paintings. I have often collaborated with young Moroccan artists because I consider sharing an art that we all have to practice. Our generation is rich with artists and unique leaders who could change the world if we offered them the requested power.”
Aesthetically speaking, good paintings are always appreciated, but the distance of time makes them less and less relatable to our own situation. Though some would argue that a good painting encapsulates something eternal about our human nature, that may not always be the case. Hassan's captions in some sense close the gap of time and make them modern again. In some cases, it even enhances the experience of the painting and doesn't detract from the value of the painting, but adds to it.
Hassan's idea and execution is brilliant in the sense that it's quite universal and doesn't require the paintings to be from a certain era, as the key source of inspiration lies in the musings of modern text messages. Hence the paintings themselves come in different styles, are from different time periods, and still manage to fall in line with the gimmick, making it a powerful concoction, be it paintings from the past century, baroque, romanticism, or modernism. At the same time, it puts the banality of our life in the digital era under a sublime aura of great paintings, which are everything but mundane and ordinary.
The modern invention of text messaging is a blessing and a curse. While it is hard to argue that the ability to reach anyone, anywhere, at any time is not a useful piece of technology, it might cause some physical and mental health issues, so it might be best to try and limit one's use of it. Constant texting causes inflammation in your fingers, as well as back problems, and the blue light makes it harder for us to fall asleep. It also gives us constant anxiety about what others write to us, and puts our brain constantly on alert, making it harder for us to relax. On the other hand, it still has potential to improve and maintain our relationships even over long distances, but keep in mind that texting robs the gestures, tone, emotions, and facial expressions out of what we're really trying to say. What to do, then? Take a break, and feast your eyes on art is my suggestion.
Though Hassan's work is original in its own right, there are other artists who do something similar though not quite the same. April Eileen, for example, writes existentialist things on pictures and paintings, and though they're darker, they're every bit as hilarious. Remember that I've told you that private messages can be bothersome sometimes? Well, this post will make you see why. And though messaging brings more communication, it also brings a lot more confusion and hilarity, too. But if you're tired of messaging-related stuff (and it sure can be tiring sometimes), chill out with some classical art memes.
