For beauty..

I stumbled across a blog just now and read an entry that was made just after a big school shooting in Connecticut. The author of this blog focuses on figurative art and does a good amount of model drawings and figure studies… He posts pictures of work by a lot of old masters and like me, tries to learn from them – working on his technique and style. This entry that caught my eye was about beauty… it was worded very well and had some pretty cool quotes that I thought I’d share.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit ’round it and pluck blackberries. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Like most of the world, I have been contemplating the events of this past week in Connecticut – crying a little, questioning a lot, trying to see a purpose and failing; at least for now. At the end of the day, this is a blog about beauty and, this week, I struggled to see any.

We, as a species, need beauty. It sustains us; it insulates us from the crudeness of reality; it reminds us that there is something more than the frantic come day, go day of existence. Beauty is all around us, but who has the time to see it? Art’s purpose is to expose the moment; all those beautiful moments that we overlook in the face of living our daily lives. And, what higher purpose is there than to show the world that which they cannot see, but which they so desperately need.

Beauty of forms; of cadences; of melodies; of virtue; all those lost moments. Endeavor to capture them, make a difference in the world; change someone.

For, he who recognizes beauty in any form, may recognize beauty in all its forms. Please, see the splendor; aspire to help those see it, who need to see it most. ”

I’d have to agree with him… beauty is important in our lives.

There are many qualities that we possess as human beings but they all seem to fit into two distinct groups – the first group includes charity, selflessness and random acts of kindness… creativity and progressive thought. The other group is ruled by greed and selfishness… the hunger for power and the desire to destroy, dominate and control. There seem to be no limit to both of these groups and what they’re capable of.

I cant see any meaning in things like this incident in Connecticut… I just think that now something good has to happen to try and balance it out in some way – like when huge disasters hit and people come together to help each other out.