ART that Changes the Heart

This 2016 street work by Banksy criticizing the use of teargas in the “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais has appeared on the French embassy in London. The artwork, which depicts a young girl from the film and musical Les Misérables with tears in her eyes as CS gas billows towards her, appeared overnight.

​Look
Listen
Observe
What that sound goin’ round?
It seems like we have experienced much during the past few months, weeks, days.
My blog is dedicated to encouraging artists and the creative spirit—but there is much to ponder.
 
The last few weeks have become a surreal combination of events, feelings, and visual images. 

Pablo Picasso's 1934 Guernica is regarded by many art critics as one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country town in northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy at the request of the Spanish Nationalists. 

For over 80 days, the globe has struggled with its reaction to the Covid virus and experiencing stages of grief. Essential workers, young parents juggling home schooling with work, teachers recrafting their art and adapting to virtual classrooms, have all have experienced prolonged stress.
In this bizarre altered universe, the globe seems to experience many events together as we all wait for a vaccine.
 The latest deep global wound has affected the world. The murder of George Floyd has exposed a raw nerve.

Norman Rockwell's the Problem We All Live With 1964, is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement. It depicts  Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American girl, on her way to an all-white public school during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats and violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals.

All parts of the body are connected to the heart and we are reminded again, that as a culture we have heart damage. We have put wealth and willful ambition in front of humanity and dignity for all. ​

In the midst of the pandemic, we recognize that we need to have sincere and long lasting self-evaluation and change.

Several months ago, I dedicated this blog to encouragement—and following my acronym for E-n-c-o-u-r-a-g-e, I am at O—Observe.

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​Dorthea Lange’s photographs of migrant families and interned Japanese Americans helped to bring attention to the needs of many during the depression and WWII.

Some definitions of Observe include:

• to inspect or take note
• to come to realize or know especially through consideration of noted facts… 
• to conform one's action or practice to (something, such as a law, rite, or condition
• to celebrate or solemnize (something, such as a ceremony or festival)

How apropos as we try to make some sense…
                           and decide where our art practices may lead.

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Théodore Géricault's 1818-19 The Raft of the Medusa drew his inspiration from the account of two survivors of the Medusa—a French Royal Navy frigate that set sail in 1816 to colonize Senegal. The captain had not sailed for over twenty years. After the ship ran aground on a sandbank, there was a shortage of lifeboats, used for the wealthy. Those who were left behind had to build a raft for 150 souls—a construction that drifted away on a bloody 13-day odyssey that was to save only 10 lives. The tragedy became a major news event and scandal of its day and the public were scandalizd by the reality depicted in the monumental painting. 16′ 1″ x 23′ 6″

 Recently, I read an artist’s post that during these trying days, painting seems irrelevant. I disagree.
 
During these powerfully charged days, art can influence!
Art must be an ongoing tribute to creative expression by all people, created by God in his infinite wisdom.
Art encompasses many forms – the painted image, spoken word, film, dance—and our lives are changes by it.

My prescription is to create art for the heart—and that can change the heart!
The heart as it supports
humanity 
dignity for all
self-respect
value
compassion
kindness
empathy
 
Whether your art overtly depicts images to promote racial equality or abstractly conveys emotions to promote dignity, I encourage you to keep your paintbrushes, pens, camera(phone) and creative tools close by.