Reviewing the Painting

Looking at Lawren Harris, Icebergs

The sky is dark and grey, I can feel there is almost no to very limited
light, with few of the star dimming in the dark sky. I couldn’t even
see any clouds.

In the lower bottom, below the sky, I see a clear and straight line
separating the ocean, a very dark blue I assume that it must be
deep and huge. The painter uses mainly pure white, light blue,
torques, navy, and dark blur in drawing the iceberg, the
centerpiece. There are also two smaller pieces of icebergs it forms
a group-like island. The painters use very dark blue colors and
vibrant blue mixed with some white along the shoreline (iceberg’s
edge).

From looking at the painting, it gives me a sense of calmness,

everywhere is silent without any living creatures in sight. The
iceberg looks like a masterpiece, the huge sharp edge gives me a
feeling of power, that this piece must have been around for years
and years, I also think that the temperature here always has to be
extremely cold and under zero in order for this size of icebergs to
be formed.

The location of this painting is unknown, and because I can see all
the details, shadow, and shape on the icebergs, they must be on
the nearby bigger island or they are in the water, on a ship. But
how is it possible for humans to reach this level of the ocean late at
the night in the dark?

The first thing it comes to me was to want to wear more clothes, I

can feel the cold. Or is it only because I come from the east? I
couldn’t imagine visiting a place like this in darkness. I would think
how am I going to leave this place? Do I have enough food? How
am I going to survive with no one around?
This painting has given me an emotion of loneliness and insecurity.
It is fascinating to see nature but it can be quite dangerous, too.

Notes After Reading the Story Out Loud

-Two men are conversating on the boat approaching the icebergs
together
They seem friendly to each other, but not too intimate; it doesn’t
sound like a friend either. They are sharing the thought of the look
of the iceberg.
-the narrator sound more like a local who is familiar and explaining
to the “man’’, because the narrator uses “he’’ to quote what he
said
-“A portal between worlds” by the narrator what does this mean?
What worlds are the narrator referring to? I wonder
-conversation ends when the man asks for the boatman (narrator)
to sail him there and help him take a picture. It sounds like an
advanture together, but why is there a strange feeling? I am not
sure why
-they were discussing how the picture should look, and the
boatman tries to talk the man to leave the Jacket and technically
everything behind on the boat. “Make it look like you’ve crossed
through the Gate without realizing, unprepared for the cold on this
side”
-the man was so excited and ready to be taken a photo of his
lifetime and he is so hurried and forget everything a little too-
hyped up
-it comes to this paragraph I am so surprised and give me
goosebump to read. The boatman says the man was an
interruption; the boatman is leaving him all alone on the island,
and he is taking the boat, jacket, and camera from him. My mind
was “oh my god”. He sounds so calm and cold.
-The boatman finalizes himself and tries to make his behavior make
sense. “a reasonable enough mistake”
-I think the narrator is trying to point out the disappointment of the
“man” when someone realized trust is broken, it always comes very
late, and no turning back
-“I wished him luck, quite sincerely” what is it the narrator trying to
say and explain here? It makes me feel confused and frustrated just
reading that. Did he just leave, like that? Did the man die? What is
the relationship between the two? It leaves me with so many
questions marks and scary thoughts.

Close Analysis with Pen on Paper

Putting the Pieces Together
Reading Robert Runte’s short story brings me to the scene if I was
in the iceberg’s location. He starts with a simple introductory
conversation with the boatman (the narrator) driving what seems
to be his own boat to transport another young man to the site, as
for the purpose, it might be a tour or it was a ride. I cannot even
tell if he is young either, but from what he mentioned “Reminds me
of this art deco radio cabinet I inherited” he seems like he is in his
youth, maybe in his 30s. That is also mysteries to me. The narrator
did not hide the fact that he is pretentious to be nice to the young
man.
The narrator has his own description of the icebergs, it is “a
buttress holding up the sky, a portal between worlds”. I think when
he says this, is just to provoke the curiosity and excitement of the
young man. I felt a little relief when I read “ Can you get ‘us’
closer?” at least I realized the young man isn’t alone in trying to get
to the icebergs. It comes to the time when the narrator drops the
young man on the island, at this point, I still don’t know what he is
trying to express here. I have a lot of questions about why is he
pointing out the wrong side of the young man’s jacket and the use
of his camera and wallet. He has obviously changed his tone of
thought. He imagines what would happen after the young man
realized his intention was indeed to steal the boat and the
belongings then leave the young man behind, on the icebergs,
without the food, jackets and any sort of survival material.
I feel like the narrator keeps an open end to the story, did he leave
at last? Or did he stay to take the photo and drive the young man
back? I have no answer to all this mysteries. But I am glad, with
reading this fiction, brings out a lot of caution that might happen in
nature if you are not careful enough, especially when you decide to
go to extreme weather location. Trustworthiness is very important.
In many situtations in life, we always need to team up or work with
others; in order to do great things. As from the story, the young
man trust the man will stay to wait until he finishes his photo, he
trusts the narrator with his jacket, wallet, camera, and more
importantly, his life. It was because the young man believe in the
good in people, if in this case, he might be making the biggest
mistake of his life, with no turning back. This kind of decision
happens in everyone’s life, and we have to always be cautions
about. We need to have rational judgment and very in-depthh
communication before we decide to trust someone with an
important task.
Thinking back, It might also be a self-reflection. I have always been
a girl who has problems trusting people in my life. It might be the
reason, I feel insecure inside of me when doing big things, or
making the decision. I was a little stunned by reading fiction and
paintings can provoke insecurity that I wasn’t even aware of.
Looking Again at the Painting
I remember when I first look at the painting, I imagine the painter
was in the position of a nearby island or boat. It seems that my
imagination was right. The weather and dark condition has
changed a little bit; because the icebergs now seem more
approachable and real to me. think it mainly comes from the
conversation between the two-man description. It feels less
remote. But I do think the painting was in cold weather, that
doesn’t change much.
At first, I sense loneliness and insecurity in the paintings, and the
feeling is consolidated and even stronger after reading the fiction.
However, I no longer fear having a thought of going somewhere
like this. I think I learn that the fear and dangerous sensation I had
was because of a lack of information and a partner (who is
trustworthy). The icebergs itself is nothing to be scared of, is for
the reason, how are you getting to the icebergs or whom will you
be going there with.
I enjoyed this exercise a lot; however, I find difficulty understanding
the story in full because of the english proficiency. The two pieces
together made me think of many aspects of nature and people’s
relationships, and I will do more of this sort of thinking in my
everyday life.