Art and Soul

I went with my movie going partner last night to see Woman in Gold. To be honest, it wasn't a great week to go to the movies... there weren't many we were interested in seeing let alone any we had noticed that we wanted to see. Isn't that the way? The weeks we can't get to the movies, there are so many we want to see, and when we finally get out there aren't many we were interested in watching... So we were pleasantly surprised by this show, though we shouldn't have been seeing as it stars Helen Mirren.

It is a true story about a woman living in California who sues the Austrian government to recover a painting of her aunt that had been stolen by the Nazis. It was the type of movie that made me think, and want to read more about the movie and the history of that time.

It's an understatement to say the Nazis stole so very much from the people they persecuted. So why do a few paintings matter? In the end a painting is just a thing, right?

Except it's not.

I've said before that creativity is driven from something deeper than paint brushes and fingers and fine motor skills. I honestly think art is driven from that something that some people call a soul, others call it a heart, psyche or spirit. And because it's driven from that source, that's where it impacts people who experience it. A piece of art that is loved becomes more than canvas and paint or a block of clay. It's a piece of spirit that is shaped from a spectral quality to a tangible, solid artifact.

And when that's stolen, a piece of the person who loves it is stolen as well.

So it's no wonder that more than half a century later the families are still searching and pleading for restoration of their artwork. You can't bring back the lives and families that were desecrated, but you can reclaim the pieces of of their souls scattered throughout museums and attics.

N