Imagination and Reality

In the second chapter of More Than Real, David Shulman suggests that an imagined concept, in this context concepts and meanings stemming from a set of painted images, gains real consequence because it is imagined, not because it is physically produced:

                       

A particular range of meaning is evoked by the painted images for each of the character, those who have produced them as well as those who merely study them. These meanings derive their power, indeed their reality, not from the marks and colors on the board but from the fantasies invested in those marks. They are, in short, real and rich in consequence because they are imagined (37).

I think this concept is really fascinating, and honestly a little confusing, so I am trying to relate the idea to a common, real-life scenario. We grow up believing imagination, rather the things we imagine, are not real. For example, an imaginary friend is not a real person. But to the imaginer, the process of imagining, and the results of that imagining, is very real. Continuing with the example of an imaginary friend, even though the “friend” does not exist in physical form, the child who imagines scenarios with her “friend” gains real experiences, events, or memories in her lifetime that she can always remember. Playing with the “friend” is real for that child. I think, but am not positive, that this is what Shulman is referring to. The paintings or images were imagined, but the ideas and thoughts they produce in the minds of viewers are real to the viewers.