Dear Readers,
For
about two years now I’ve been giving my version of an Art Appreciation class at
an assisted living facility. We look at images and examples of the work of each
individual we’ve decided to appreciate, like a Picasso or Monet. We dig out personal
information that will help enlighten us as to what influenced their life and development
as an artist, and all the while we discuss what we find.
Yesterday
we were appreciating Gustave Courbet, a French painter involved in the Realist
movement. Bold and controversial, Gustave used his art to emphasize his
politics and enlighten the viewer about the less popular social issues of the
time.
As we
worked our way through Courbet’s history, we came across this statement in the
Wikipedia – Free Encyclopedia:
Until about 1861, Napoléon's regime had exhibited
authoritarian characteristics, using press
censorship to prevent the spread of opposition, manipulating elections, and depriving
Parliament the right to free debate or any real power.
As a
group we were struck by the correlation to some of the events that have been
transpiring in our country. In particular, highlighted in bold type above, we
were cognizant of how those three statements could have been pulled, in whole
or part from the headlines of today.
The
discussion took us down another avenue, in particular—quotes about mistakes.
This brought us to George Santayana, who was a Spanish-American philosopher,
poet, essayist and novelist. He is best remembered for two sayings, so familiar
and used so often, they are considered by many to be clichéd.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned
to repeat it,” and “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
There was a lot of life experience
in that room yesterday and I was inspired by the insight these wonderful elders
gave to the subject. No shouting, no fighting, while opinions and observations
were voiced and listened to with respect.
I gain so much each and every time I
spend an hour with this remarkable group. If inclined, I urge you to
investigate doing the same thing in your community. Activity directors are
always looking for people to share with their seniors.
Take care,
Shelley
Riley
Author of
Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure
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