“Never ever, never ever saw me
Saw me like they did”
Vilhelm painted Ida no fewer than twenty times, but the viewer never knew her true likeness. Often just a silhouette of the canvas’ sole living form, she faced away from the world silent and immobile.
Via hedgehogs, Arthur theorized the ideal relationship to be one in which both parties strive to create distance and opacity. Accordingly the union gains courtesy, mystery, ongoing passion, and a general disinclination to hurt one another.
Retired Kasumi’s comfortable existence with Shizuko is one such liaison. His gourmet adventures delight viewers with Art of Food and Joys of Living, yet never seeps into the other half of the house. Perhaps he is fated to wander familiar streets into everyday’s dying amber sunsets.