I’m not debating the point and not looking to beleaguer it. I’m only merely trying to point out the obvious. Indeed it is entirely up to the artist to convey his image as that artist envisions it. You assume that the wolves are chasing something. I on the other hand do not assume that they are chasing anything although well they could be.

 

To me they are caught on “canvas” in the moment and can be in the act of doing any number of things as I said before; they may be playing, running towards their den for any number of reasons, running pack hunting maneuvers or may indeed be in hot pursuit of a prey. 

Animals run, walk, fly or swim naturally as a matter of instinct and self-preservation and there often isn’t any humanly understandable reason why they do the things they do and therefore require no explanation. It is just nature doing what nature does best, being unpredictable.

 

I feel it is not necessary for the artist to convey every nuance of the story and feel the artist should allow the viewer the free license of imagination to fill in the gaps for themselves. This is what keeps the viewer interested and wondering IMO, like the smile on the face of De Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

 

A photographer snaps a picture of a lady walking briskly down a busy metropolitan street does he have to convey the reason why she’s walking? Of course not, the viewer simply implies reasoning and sees the action merely as a natural thing humans do in their daily lives. To the viewer the woman is in her natural element and most viewers wouldn’t think anything of it. 

If one where to later find this woman somehow and ask her what was she doing when the photo was taken, one would perhaps be surprised to discover that she was late and on her way to teach a dance class. The point here being that she was merely caught in the act of doing something in her natural element and no explanation is necessary when viewing the picture. It was just a picture caught of a woman in a routine act of daily living. The same is true here with the wolves being in their natural element.

 

Of course if indeed Skiwillgee wants to convey the drama of a chase that is entirely up to him as the artist and not for me to insist that it is a chase or otherwise. I’m satisfied by his presentation in capturing a particular moment, a snap shot if you will of the animal in an act in its natural element.

Quest