21:09
Faizan
Could it be I am the first person to express a thought about artists and musicians that many of us have had but never stated it publicly? Could it be that I am the first person who doesn't understand the inherent beauty in our art and music? Could it be that I am the first person, who will take the risk to ask: why do we not have artists and musicians like Michelangelo and Mozart or Da Vinci and Beethoven today?
When one inches shoulder to shoulder with others, along a gallery of exquisite art in a museum like the Uffizi in Florence to see the great works of art, the thought keeps coming and coming. Why don't we have great artist like these today?
We have better schools. We certainly have more sophisticated students, and more professional teachers. We have better facilities and more of them. As moderns, are we laying down on the job or have we redefined art to adapt to the stuff that is being splashed on canvas today?
When one pays a handsome fee to go to an opera in Vienna to hear one of Verdi's or Puccini's operas, we cannot help but ask, why don't we have great musicians like that in our culture today?
Perhaps, there is some mystery of God that the greats lived under in ancient times that doesn't hold true for today. It's a puzzle, for you can't equate the plastic glass buildings, the geometric art and the rock and roll music to the life-likeness of a David, or the harmony of Handel. Why the difference?
A hint of an answer came to me straight out of our tour guide book. If the writer was aware he was coming to my rescue he might have elaborate further. His intent, rather, was to merely describe the development of art in the time of Michelangelo. He said, "The paintings of the 15th century Florence trained in each other's workshops and watched each other's progress with jealous eyes, each sparking off the other's genius and contributing to a chain of innovative masterpieces which is one of the wonders of the Western civilization."
When my husband read this to me I asked what kind of explanation is that. He responded like a true Texan. He said, "In the 15th century art was the love of the people. In our day it is football."
There you have it. Spot on. While many of our would-be famous artist spent a lifetime waiting for their time to come, we pass out multimillion dollar sport contracts like bus tickets.
I contend, however, it is more than that. The dedication to art, music and literature is reserved for the serious-minded, but is taken less seriously by the populous who are willing to accept less than greatness.
Imagine students standing over Joyce Carol Oates shoulders watching her with eager eyes to learn how to negotiate a sentence and struggle for just the exact word. True, Oates teaches, but how many of her protégés become greater than she? Is the desire to pass on, through apprenticeship, the lessons we know and have proven worthy, or are we jealous of our status and position and feel threatened that someone will follow who might become a nova in the galaxy?
Michael Jackson amassed over 93 million dollars in one year with thousands upon thousands of people listening to his music. But will Jackson's portrait be the representative of our culture in the year 3000? Will his music survive as timeless and his bust sit handsomely on a pedestal in the modern equivalent of the Prado?
When one inches shoulder to shoulder with others, along a gallery of exquisite art in a museum like the Uffizi in Florence to see the great works of art, the thought keeps coming and coming. Why don't we have great artist like these today?
We have better schools. We certainly have more sophisticated students, and more professional teachers. We have better facilities and more of them. As moderns, are we laying down on the job or have we redefined art to adapt to the stuff that is being splashed on canvas today?
When one pays a handsome fee to go to an opera in Vienna to hear one of Verdi's or Puccini's operas, we cannot help but ask, why don't we have great musicians like that in our culture today?
Perhaps, there is some mystery of God that the greats lived under in ancient times that doesn't hold true for today. It's a puzzle, for you can't equate the plastic glass buildings, the geometric art and the rock and roll music to the life-likeness of a David, or the harmony of Handel. Why the difference?
A hint of an answer came to me straight out of our tour guide book. If the writer was aware he was coming to my rescue he might have elaborate further. His intent, rather, was to merely describe the development of art in the time of Michelangelo. He said, "The paintings of the 15th century Florence trained in each other's workshops and watched each other's progress with jealous eyes, each sparking off the other's genius and contributing to a chain of innovative masterpieces which is one of the wonders of the Western civilization."
When my husband read this to me I asked what kind of explanation is that. He responded like a true Texan. He said, "In the 15th century art was the love of the people. In our day it is football."
There you have it. Spot on. While many of our would-be famous artist spent a lifetime waiting for their time to come, we pass out multimillion dollar sport contracts like bus tickets.
I contend, however, it is more than that. The dedication to art, music and literature is reserved for the serious-minded, but is taken less seriously by the populous who are willing to accept less than greatness.
Imagine students standing over Joyce Carol Oates shoulders watching her with eager eyes to learn how to negotiate a sentence and struggle for just the exact word. True, Oates teaches, but how many of her protégés become greater than she? Is the desire to pass on, through apprenticeship, the lessons we know and have proven worthy, or are we jealous of our status and position and feel threatened that someone will follow who might become a nova in the galaxy?
Michael Jackson amassed over 93 million dollars in one year with thousands upon thousands of people listening to his music. But will Jackson's portrait be the representative of our culture in the year 3000? Will his music survive as timeless and his bust sit handsomely on a pedestal in the modern equivalent of the Prado?
Posted in: arts
