For me, Tango and connection are inseparable and a portrayal of tango dancers must convey this to be true to the dance.
Tango is not really about moves or patterns; it is not about being better than others or even about reaching your own potential as a dancer. It is primarily about connection with another person, being open, listening to one another, and responding to each other.
It is a dialogue, not a statement.
I was asked to describe what I think when I paint tango. I would like to replace the word ‘think’ for ‘feel’ because it is not a cold rational process, it is an emotional experience. As connection is the most important part of Tango to me, it will be no surprise that this is the main aspect of the dance I want to capture in paint. It’s not the only interest, however: movement, shape, colour and sensuality all have their place.
Faced with a blank canvas, I could paint a scene at a milonga – the dance floor full of couples dancing, perhaps a band in the corner; I could pretend it’s a bar in Buenos Aires; I could adorn the leader with red braces and a black hat etc. For me, these would be distractions not to say clichés. I don’t need the context of a social setting. If it’s all about connection, the dancers need to be centre stage, in their own world.
When I dance I seem to enter a different world. Awake, eyes open but somewhere else. Where do I go? I don’t know, but I like it there. When I paint I try to find that place again. I look for images of dancers that engage me. Then I create a context from my imagination or I look to convey movement with the paint. Sometimes it’s physical movement, sometimes the patterns of the dance or the music, its rhythms and melodies. In the absence of music, colour supplies the emotional warmth of the moment.
When painting a couple dancing, it’s all about how they fit together rather than how they look individually. The fault line – the point of interest – is where the two bodies touch and relate to each other. Occasionally I want the bodies to merge into one greater being complete with four legs – the ultimate connection.
I hope this short essay provides you with some insight to my approach to painting Tango, but view my paintings and, hopefully, they will speak for themselves.
Thank you all for reading,
Mark Fielding, UK
About the Author: Mark Fielding is a painter whose efforts are driven by the subject-based inspiration he feels when depicting dancers on his canvas. Visit his his website to view his Tango, and other, paintings.
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{ 8 tango-induced comments… read them, love them, and add your 2 cents! }
Glad you are back up and running. Great post, great art! Definitely see the connection between the dancers in the paintings. Someone who doesn’t dance tango and is just painting a scene might not focus on the connection so much, but then the point would be lost.
Slowly, but surely, I’ll be back. I have some great writers with good topics that would like to write/post. You’ll be seeing them soon!
I stumbled upon this blog and Mark Fielding’s website while doing a tango related search. Great blog and wonderful tango paintings Mark. You really do capture “The tango moment”. I have been thinking about doing some tango paintings of my tango friends, though I am a little intimidated by how how difficult it is to capture something about the tango feeling – rather than just two figures dancing.
I think you have done it extremely well, consider me impressed.
I just had an interesting thought: Wouldn’t it be great if Mark could attend a milonga here in the states and paint on the sidelines as dancers whizzed by him?
What do you think Mark?
Sounds a great idea. A friend has just been in L.A. and whetted my appetite for a trip across the Atlantic. One problem I envisage is when the music starts, I’d want to dance not paint!
Thanks for the positive reaction, Karen.
That would indeed be a problem – I would feel the same. One of our milongueros takes beautiful photographs of us dancing but he then moans that he has less time to dance because we expect him to take nice pictures.
But taking some quick photos would give you more dancing time and you could paint afterwards!
Gorgeous work! And I’m glad to hear you’ve found a solution for your chronic pain.
Mark – I’m a licensing agent. Have you done any licensing of your artwork? A tango calendar of your art would be great.