It’s Thursday, and I’ve been working on other things this week besides getting today’s post finished. I’m also fighting off a big headache. So let’s just wing it today, shall we?
I’m really saddened by the news of the president signing an order to keep refugees out of the U.S.
I believe that, just as intercultural travel enriches an individual, a diversity of cultures ultimately enriches a country. And the fact that we are turning away so many people seeking refuge breaks my heart.
What is it the Statue of Liberty says? “Give me…your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”? I don’t recall it ending with “LOL! j/k” but I dunno. Maybe I’m misremembering.
When my sister-in-law asked on Facebook yesterday where everyone was finding hope, all I could think of was art.
I’ve been mulling this over for awhile now. Maybe since the election results came in and I couldn’t stop thinking of Goya and of Picasso. Maybe before that.
Even now – especially now – art is vital. Stories are vital.
The best art is nuanced, has layers of meaning, expresses truth.
When I think about how we got to this point in the U.S., I believe it has a lot to do with black-and-white thinking, with ignoring nuance. Saying “this is 100% evil” or “this is 100% perfect” and refusing to recognize the layers of a situation or the mix of good and bad that lives in all of us.
Creating something that comes from your heart, that expresses a piece of your experience, that puts authenticity over agenda, is a form of resistance against oversimplification and prejudice.
So let’s make things and speak truth and recognize people making art in our communities, because every person that makes/writes something that is true of themselves is also helping to paint a wider, truer picture of humanity.
Artwork in the photos:
1. Colibrí mural by Mata Ruda
2. Tempe Library art exhibition by John Randall Nelson
3. Studio and work of Judy Bruce
4 + 5. Murals in Clarion Alley
6. Colonel Platoff on His Charger by Kehinde Wiley
