Death of a Master's Soul
by
Shaunda Clifton, for Fine Art Registry™
There was a time when museums and galleries were for the serious artist, scholars and those who wanted to own a masterpiece – the lovers of art; those who felt the soul of the master through his work. The appreciation and passion ran mysteriously through the hallowed halls and could be sensed by all who entered. Standing silently with eyes closed, you could feel the presence of Van Gogh, Cézanne, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and the many others. "Looking at a painting by Cézanne is a very sensuous experience" said author and Senior Curator Phillip Conisbee. The great artisans never saw themselves as the world sees them.
Van Gogh for the most part is known as the insane painter who cut off part of his ear and then finally killed himself. Yet we look into his paintings and see the majesty of nature through his eyes. We need to take the time to hear his words "For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." "If you hear a voice within you saying, 'you are not a painter,' then by all means paint… and that voice will be silenced." "I dream of painting and then I paint my dream."
Those who have visited the Sistine Chapel are speechless when they see the hand of God touch man yet Michelangelo never thought himself as a painter but as a marble sculptor "painting is not my art". While up in the heights of the Sistine Chapel he said, "I'm in no good place, nor am I a painter". His family referred to his art as common labor and was embarrassed.
Everything seems to now revolve around the money – these sacred places of the masters are used for fund raising and all types of entertainment venues. Anyone and everyone are welcome and the liquor runs forever. Unfortunately all too many come to rub elbows with the "right people" or to establish a name for themselves, but have no appreciation for what surrounds them. Instead of the dedicated and devoted few, big crowds ramble through not caring where they set the soda cup and knocking things around, touching the souls of the masters as they are displayed. It is no wonder that there is a great hesitation for collectors to lend their prized pieces to anyone for display. What heartbreak it is to see that for the most part, the days of seeing a master's soul are gone.
There is no longer that comfortable guarantee that the piece will be treated as one that has had a master's touch, but instead is shown to the masses that somehow have the need to touch it and to use flash photography so they have something to show the folks back home. In early 2006 while on display at an English children's museum, a 1909 Steiff bear somehow got into the clutches of the museum's guard dog and the bear was torn to shreds. The value was estimated at $75,000. A part of a master's soul – no longer alive. On a school field trip a sixth grader took gum out of his mouth and stuck it on a Helen Frankenthaler canvas with an estimated worth of $1.5 million.
This genocide it is not limited to just the museums and galleries though. Private business, civic displays, colleges and universities typically have on loan great works of art. It is not that there is a love of the works but a need to stand out in society – "look what I have". It is unfortunate that no one told them or they didn't care to see that the masterpiece had to be treated with loving care. Instead it was placed on an easel outside on a sunny hot day or inside underneath bright lights thinking that the masterful use of color could be seen well, when all the time the pigments were slowly deteriorating.
Art is not limited to what can be placed on a wall. We can not forget Chopin, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and the other masters of music. Mozart created over 600 compositions all before his death at 35. "I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings," he said. So that he could hear the music through the vibrations, Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard of his piano and when he would bite down he could feel the notes in his jaw. Hershey Felder said of Chopin, "everything was a pure expression of the soul and emotion…" Theirs was not about notes on a page; after all, anyone can draw notes and even put them into rhythm and play them. Not the masters of music – it had nothing to do with the notes, it had everything to do with emotion. True music is pure emotion. An example would be Beethoven's crying out in his 5th symphony. Yet he said, "Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman." "Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life."
Instead of feeling the great master's soul, you hear it slowly dying – crying out because in each piece lives a part of the creator. We cannot allow any more the disrespect of a life. We who are here now need to take back the hallowed halls and give them to the masters of art, past – present – future.
— Shaunda Clifton
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April 25, 2008
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