Power of Art

"Art is the enemy of the routine, the mechanical and the humdrum. It stops us in our tracks with a high voltage jolt of disturbance; it reminds us of what humanity can do beyond the daily grind. It takes us places we had never dreamed of going; it makes us look again at what we had taken for granted." -Simon Schama

I cannot get over how impressive "Simon Schama's Power of Art" is. The television series is currently airing on PBS (was originally a BBC series back in autumn 2006) and explores the "dramatic turning points in lives of eight artists and the masterpieces that changed the way the world looks at art."

The three episodes that I have been fortunate enough to see are those on Jacques-Louis David's "The Death of Marat," Vincent Van Gogh's "Wheatfiled with Crows," and tonight I saw the episode featuring Joseph Mallord William Turner's "Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On)." My timing in being introduced to this amazing series couldn't have been more perfect. I am particularly fascinated with history around the time of David and Turner (even better, The French Revolution and Slavery), and I love Van Gogh. The other artists featured in this eight part series are: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Picasso, Bernini, and Rothko. I look forward to seeing the other episodes.

Schama's narrative style, full of intrigue and emotion, really commands this series. He does not routinely explore the artists and their works. Rather, slight (but certainly not overdone) re-enactments, visual stimulation (even better in HD), powerfully and appropriately paired music, and Schama's abrubt and interactive commentary... all work together to tell the stories of these artists and their works. The combination produces a powerful result. I wish I could more effectively convey how powerful this series really is.

I really like this quote of Schama's, above. I have come to feel really moved by art, after years of "not seeing." I remember sitting at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC...surrounded by these amazing works for the first time. It was as though I was feeling emotions I had never been aware of. Again, when I was at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, I felt this swell of emotion and connection, with several paintings in particular. It is so incredible to feel that connection to art, in its various forms (painting, writing, sculpture, music, etc.). I think it signals a connection with humanity. And I don't believe that one comes before the other. I don't believe that we have to (or even that we can) come to feel a connection with humanity on our own before we can appreciate art. I think we have to meet in the middle. Art inspires us and we inspire art.

Amazing series.