by Nancy Nesvet
Amidst the chaos and fighting taking place all over the world, I am so thankful to our writers for demonstrating, in their words and in their art, that we are all in this together, and must care for each other and our mutual world if we are to survive. W benefit from our artist’s curiosity and willingness to learn about other people, identities and cultures by expanding our knowledge of others’ view of the world, and at the same time, come together to make sure we protect our mutual world. From Jorge Benitez’s insistence that we must come together in cross-cultural exchange, to Lux Eterna’s golden trees, in Australia, but that could exist anywhere on earth, to her beautiful, filmed dance, she shows the universality of natural beauty. Lanita Brooks Colbert credits the wealthy who made that beauty, interpreted by those from different cultures, portrayed by artists, available to all and Adam Void brilliantly tells how the politics portrayed by the Mexican muralists called due attention to the ideological battle between communists and capitalists while celebrating nature and labor, showing how schools of art, abstract expressionism, pop art were influenced by politics and economics.
Katerina Weslien universalizes the artistic angst of creation, acknowledging that artists must find a way around becoming “Stuck” to carry on their projects, as we must all find a way together to preserve our earth and the beauty it holds. Charles Gaucher shows how three artists shown in Paris navigated the murky waters of addressing nature and its preservation, universalizing techniques from their individual cultures.
As artists, we must use our individual creativity, exploring techniques and content passed down through generations to newly act and come together, find ways to protect the earth, ourselves and each other. As these writers and artists show us the way, we must link hands and minds to come together in mutual help and understanding, finding creative ways, as artists, to preserve our world for all of us.