Art, Love, Peace and Freedom

Yesterday I celebrated another Martin Luther King Day at the art museum. I always look forward each year to volunteering and helping out with the many activities that are presented at the museum that are free to the public.







This year I was assigned to the Art-Making area. This activity involved creating a Community Quilt. The public, old and young, were invited to select a symbol and use that symbol and other decorations to create a piece for the community quilt. Each individual was given a black square of construction paper about 21/2 inches. Additional supplies were available to make a quick and unique piece for the Quilt that was displayed on a large board in the museum. The contributions to the Community Quilt were colorful and a delight to view. Some of the most creative pieces came from the younger group of visitors.






Everyone participating in this activity was also asked to write something on another piece of construction paper to go along with their art work. They were asked to write a few words about their legacy, or about heirlooms, or anything that they felt was important. After about two hours I was able to view the work of many participants. I couldn’t help but notice that the words “Love, Peace, and Freedom” appeared frequently.






It was a good day at the museum and a great way to celebrate MLK Day because many of us were thinking about art, love, peace and freedom.






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Made By The Artist

I just recently read an article discussing two famous artists arguing whether it is correct to take credit for artwork if an assistant contributes. The article was about David Hockney questioning whether Damien’s Hirsts work could be considered his own since he uses a number of assistants to complete his pieces of work.







I believe this is very similar to major writers today who are producing books at record pace. I am not one hundred percent sure, but I suspect many of these bestselling authors are using assistants to help with the mundane part of writing a novel. I believe the main idea or subject belongs to the noted author. The author’s name alone goes on the finished work and he gets credit for producing the work. The assistants may or maynot be mentioned in the credits.






This new concept art today is very large and very tedious. I would not begin to imagine one individual artist solely completing these huge projects. Years ago there were artists who tackled major projects. Take Michelangelo, architect, sculptor, and painter of the Sistine Chapel, for example. I have read that Michelangelo refused to train apprentices and did not allow anyone to watch him work. The concept artists today are not interested in creating one great inspired piece of work. They would most likely, I regret to say, prefer to create as many works of art as possible due to monetary reasons.

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