How do we know

How do we know when a work of art is great?

How do we measure excellence in a work of art?

How do we aim for excellence if we can’t recognize it?

Why do some works of art endure and not others?

Why do some works of art have to die and be resurrected to be valued?

Why are some works of art locked up in vaults, completely against their will?

Why are minor works by great artists valued more than great works by minor artists?

What makes a work of art timeless?

Why do some works of art never cease to be provocative?

Is it necessary for works of art to be held to a high external standard?

Must a work of art eventually have to speak to a broad audience?

Should a work of art have expectations of a viewer?

Does a work of art owe any responsibility to its viewers?

Do any of these questions really  matter?

Art school

Art school is one of the very best ways to spend your early adulthood. Though you seem to be there for a career, you are actually there to start your journey as a lifelong creative. You learn languages of the head and the hand--and often of the spirit. Your task as a student is to explore the world and your place in it. In the process you explore yourself, supported by artist mentors.

Creativity urges you to question rules as  much as follow them as you question yourself as well. You are challenged by others doing the same thing. In the end you are left with a body of work which is a tangible measure of who you are.

HC #5

Holy Church of Get Off Your Ass and Do Something

Sermonette #5

The Gods sit on their thrones, but we don’t have that luxury.

The Gods give us a broken world, and we have to fix it.

The Gods create us as homo sapiens, and we have to turn ourselves in humans.

The Gods make us all different, so we can learn we are all the same.

The Gods are very serious, but we have to learn to laugh at them.

The Gods don’t expect perfection, so why should we?

We entertain the Gods, and they love us for it.

The Gods get upset when we don’t love their creation.

The Gods expect us to get off our asses and make a difference.

Lockdown lingers

Lockdown lingers, so I gotta stay busy. Yep, a new projects list.

1. Make a dried flower portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci

2. Research the puberty rituals of Arctic tribes

3. Make an album of all the golf course shots of Trump’s fat ass

4. Knit sweaters for the squirrels in my yard

5. Memorize the speeches of Joe Namath and Tom Selleck in their  commercials

6. Rename all the dogs that appear on my facebook page

7. Make some prank calls: Do you have Prince Albert in a can?

8. Polish my candelabra

9. Rewash all my used plastic bags

10. Make up a sonnet to rival Shakespeare’s

Bananas

As a proud American, I thought I was lucky that I could get my free book on mesothelioma and could hope that Kelly Clarkson would appear in my kitchen. Just two examples of how much I am cared about and how much my needs are anticipated.

But now, as a male always in search of my maleness, I can buy underwear that’s temperature controlled and bulge enhancing. Finally I can stop buying all those bananas.

Outraged

We need to be outraged any time any person of any race murders any person of any race.

We need to be clear about what we want from policing and then support that with our time and money.

We need to demand legislative action on gun control.

We need to call attention to the social circumstances that lead to violence.

We need to own our role in the society we build.

We need to get out of our cocoons of convenience and comfort and make a difference.

We need to find authentic heroes to lead us to a better society.

We need to make our voices heard through our actions.

Police

Police “protect and serve” the communities that give them authority. But policing is responsive to the kind of community its government and citizens build. Policing in too many American communities must confront violence, racism, guns, drugs, mental illness and family dysfunction, among other issues, all reflective of the community itself and its values.

Certainly, policing must reform and improve, and this will surely help. But it ‘s not the primary means to making the necessary changes in community values. Policing must be a consequence of communities and governments enacting thoughtful and effective legislation, actions aimed at turning their cities and towns into ones that live the values they espouse.

After all, the community is the reason the police exist “to protect and to serve.”