Aesthetic Space

Paul Reynard Exhibit: December 5-9 New York, Art Directors Club

The artist Paul Reynard was asked before he died, "What is the place of art in contemporary life?" He responded, "The question could well be formulated as 'What is the place of love in contemporary life?'"

I've always loved that statement--it says so much. I'm also enthralled with his writings on the creative process. He said: "A work of art is necessarily incomplete. It is a way of learning." To my mind, we're all in this process of art-making, whether we think of ourselves as artists...or not.

This December, Art Directors Club Gallery in New York will hold a large exhibition of Reynard's work (he died in 2005.) In my opinion, the best artists show us how to see with love, and that's what Reynard's work is about. Here are the details:

December 5-9, 2011
Reception: Dec. 6th, 6-9PM

The Art Directors Club Gallery
106 West 29th Street, New York city
Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm
Tel: (212) 643-1440

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Beauty is Life. If It Seems to be Dead, It's not Beauty.

"Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously. Other happenings give us joy and afterwards a peace, but in beauty these are the same experience. Beauty is serene and at the same time exhilarating; it increases one’s sense of being alive...Beauty is the mystery which enchants us. Like all higher experiences of being human, beauty is dynamic; its sense of repose, paradoxically, is never dead, and it it seems to be dead, it is no longer beauty." (excerpted from My Quest for Beauty by Rollo May)

I have the sense that beauty is the direction of "True North." In other words, whatever it is that our culture is searching for in this time of chaos and change, the place we need to be looking, is toward beauty. It's easy to feel this when you spend time in nature--the cares of the world dissolve and peace settles over us. But beauty can be found in other arenas as well, such as meaningful connections with people and the arts. In my view, Beauty is the direction of True North.

"Imagination is when you dream and play at the same time"

That's a statement from a five-year old. Michelle, a kindergarten teacher, posted it on my facebook page. I'm thinking we should carry notepads when we're with children, so they can teach us how to be human.