Where is the mermaid?

Every piece of art, whether painted, photographed, written, performed, played, thrown, pressed, etched.... has a story. That story relays the artist or performers to present a emotional snapshot of internal or external reactions to time or space.

To present this expression, the piece is given a name. This name is to describe to the world what the meaning or feeling of the art represents.

The name or title can be an abstraction of mental anguish, or a road map to the effort put forth to create the piece.

Sometimes the viewer understands what stands before them with the name or title filling in the void of confusion, then other times it causes a disassociation with the piece.

So, I heard an artist say he had put an element into the work that, if presented to the viewer, would cause a deeper examination of the piece.

It is a sort of signature to the presentation.

Carol Burnett did it with a tug on the ear.

Imagine you are viewing a painting, complex with swirls and mixed colors, layers of motion, trying to figure where the eye should grasp the piece.

Then you hear the artist in passing ask, "Where's the mermaid?"