Blog

            Considering the recent mid-term elections and all the energy, positive and negative, surrounding that, I revisit a short blog from roughly three years ago.

             I’ve studied art for a long time and have had the good fortune to visit many of the world’s finest art museums. I’ve also seen special exhibitions of works from private collections and museums less accessible as they have traveled to the United States. There is always great joy being in the presence of art that is centuries old or, in some cases, thousands of years old. I can imagine something about the time from which these works came, and this always gives me tremendous appreciation for the people that created them as well as for humanity’s creative expression, which is my heritage and is truly in my blood. There is more that unites us in common humanity than divides us by cultural differences, and yet it is these cultural differences that often make for such interesting contrasts and variety in the work derived from them.

            It saddens me, though, that there are people that don’t understand the value of artistic expression. Whether from philistine attitudes, ignorance, intolerance, or stupidity, the mind that is closed to artistic appreciation is built on exclusion rather than inclusion. This makes for a small life in my opinion, but if we believe in freedom, we must acknowledge that others have choice in the matter, and their choices may not be the same as mine or anyone else’s.

            Art has shown itself to be the voice of many people at many times throughout history. Some parts of that history we know only because we have the art that has remained to speak for those that no longer can speak for themselves. This is a powerful reason for being the dedicated caretakers of the past. It is our world cultural heritage that we all are part of regardless of region from which we come or language with which we speak or political persuasion that we may espouse. Hopefully, those that have never considered or have outright rejected the validity of art will one day have an epiphany through a piece of art that they will someday encounter in an airport, on a street corner, in a shop window, in a friend’s house, or in a field. Artists know well that Eureka moment when insight illuminates what before has been perplexing darkness.