"The arts and sciences are essential to the prosperity of the State
and to the ornament and happiness of human life."
–George Washington.
"Wine is the divine juice of September."
but in October
"The one thing that matters is the effort."
— Voltaire
"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life."
–William Faulkner
September came and went with the arrival of October. It is the month of Samhain. Better known to us as Halloween -a contraction of "All Hallows' evening"- this tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. Samhein adherents believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during this time, allowing for interaction between us mere humans and the denizens of the Spirit world.
Truthfully, as I have been fully immersing myself in otherworldly stories dealing with humans, witches, vampires, ghosts, daemons, beasts, and whatever else you'd like to add, I thought why not look up some fine Gaelic artists. So while there won't be any genuine spookiness, I'm sure the "coolness" of the featured fine artists will surely make up for it.
William Crozier was born in Edinburgh; Crozier studied at Edinburgh College of Art, lived in Paris in 1923, while on a Carnegie Travelling Scholarship, and studied with the cubist painter André Lhote. He was fascinated by the bright sunlight in Italy casting deep shadows and attempted to capture this intense light, as he was to adopt the lessons of Cubism, in his own work. Crozier was a hemophiliac, and because of this disease, he died at the very young age of thirty-seven, following a fall in his studio.
William Orpen, a favorite of mine, whose determination to serve as a war artist cost him his health and social standing in Britain. November will be dedicated to his work and his life.
And there is, of course, Paul Henry, a post-impressionist landscape painter born in Ireland whose use of color was affected by his red-green color blindness. Go figure … A green-red color blind painter. Sadly, he lost his sight in 1945 and did not regain his vision before his death.
If you are interested in knowing more about these Gaelic artists, I suggest you visit www.invaluable.com/blog/famous-irish-artists/, a very nice and informative website.
As we continue to grapple with an ongoing global pandemic, problems of racial justice, and the existential threat that climate change poses to our planet, Art may help us lift our spirits.
As this month is also National Arts and Humanities Month, I invite you all to celebrate the power of the arts to provide solace, understanding, and healing.
Many of our creative sectors have been devastated because of COVID-19. Performance venues were canceled; museums, libraries, art venues had to close for a time. Some did not recover. Some still may not. When you start shopping for the holidays, please take a moment to remember that artful gifts really make great gifts. And they help us in pursuing our Art.
As we are coming to the end of our little chat, I would like to remind you that after the struggle of isolation, often paired with the loss of loved ones, the power of Art –be it through music, poetry, fine arts, dance, etc.—has helped us to persevere through extremely difficult times in a very ideologically divided country
You can bind my body, tie my hands, govern my actions: you are the strongest, and society adds to your power; but with my will, sir, you can do nothing."
― George Sand
I also would like to reiterate the importance of getting vaccinated. Prevention is the key to subdue this virus. I am vaccinated, and I will get the booster shot as soon as available for my age group. Again, this is not only about you. This concerns your family, your friends, your community. So, unless you have a darn good reason to object to taking the vaccine, go get it. NOW.
Until next time peoples of the page. To those who celebrate Samhain/Halloween, be safe, stay healthy, be kind. Namaste.
"Just as a painter needs light to put the finishing touches to his picture, so I need an inner light, which I feel I never have enough of in the autumn."
― Leo Tolstoy
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-henry/launching-the-currach-1911
http://www.artnet.com/artists/william-crozier/
https://www.invaluable.com/artist/knee-howard-lmw7judhn3/
https://www.wikiart.org/en/william-orpen
Note from the author: ALL IMAGES shown in this column are courtesy of NLew/Reflectionsandstuff. All artwork of NLew is ©NLew. All other images belong to the respective artists and/or the galleries/museums that own them and are used here under the creative commons license for instructional purposes/non-commercial use without modifications of which the sole purpose is the sharing of Art only. (In this case Wikimedia Art)
Please respect this and do not misuse them. Please note that if you want to copy/use any material/photo from this website you may need the permission of the owner/s. Again, respect Artists' copyrights, please. Never forget to mention the source. As always, I am thankful for your patronage.
