So, do I win the award for the cheesiest blog post title ever? Today we'll take a look at Vincent Van Gogh (Ah, yes now you get it), my favorite artist out of all the French Impressionists. I remember the first time I got to see a Van Gogh painting up close at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was one of his famous sunflower paintings (pictured above). I remember learning about the thickness of the paint and how some of his paintings were still drying underneath 50 years after he painted them, and I got to see the thickness of the paint. I also remember learning that he sometimes applied paint onto the canvas straight from the tube and I could see small circular indentations made by the opening of the paint tube. I was able to get such a good look at it and then the security guard said "Back away from the painting, please."
My favorite piece of Van Gogh's work has to be Starry Night.
I like it so much, I had it printed on my credit card, see:
Notice something missing? Yea, I'm not that stupid.
So here's a brief bio on Van Gogh. He was born in 1853. He was the son of a pastor and was brought up in a very religious and cultured place. He was a preacher for a little while but was dismissed for overzealousness. He decided to become an artist instead. He figured he would bring people happiness by creating beauty. His early works were very somber and lacking in color though. His first famous painting was called "The Potato Eaters".
In Paris he met other artists such as Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin and started dabbling in Impressionism. Van Gogh was a very nervous person and he spent all day painting and all night having conversations which wasn't good for his health. His friends tried to help him but he would have fits of madness and was admitted to the asylum in Saint-Remy. He seemed to be doing better by May of 1890, so he left the asylum but then shot himself two months later and it took him two days to die.
Here are some quotes by Vincent Van Gogh:
"An artist needn't be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow man."
"The diseases that we civilized people labor under most are melancholy and pessimism."
"There is no blue without yellow and without orange."
"We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words."
Here are some facts about Van Gogh:
Probably one of the most well known but untrue facts is that he cut off his entire ear. The fact is he only cut off a small part of his ear lobe while in a fit of epilepsy in which he was holding a razor blade at the time.
He had an older brother who died at birth who was also named Vincent.
He sold only one painting during his lifetime and did not become famous until after his death.
Vincent completed over 900 paintings in the span of ten years.
Last Thursday I included a video from the film "Dreams" by Akira Kurosawa. Dreams is a collection of eight short films. One is called "Crows" and is about Vincent Van Gogh. Martin Scorsese plays Van Gogh, take a look:
On Monday I had talked about Shane Claiborne and the Potter St. community. Today I want to talk about what community could look like. Not everyone is going to have neighbors that would want to cooperate, but I think community should be all about sharing possessions. It would cut costs for everyone. I touched on this a little on Monday when I was talking about sharing a lawnmower. Share your food, vehicles, time, abilities, etc. To live this way we'll need to avoid issues such as greed and jealousy. If vehicles are going to be shared it needs to be discussed how things will be handled if a vehicle gets damaged. The same should go with other shared things to avoid placing blame. Get to know your neighbors well enough that you could trust them enough to babysit for you if you need a night out. Be sure to return the favor in some way. It may be difficult to live this way, but personally I think it is a better way to live and build relationships with others. It will take a lot of trust and patience to do this, and no, it's not a perfect way to live. At times it may seem inconvenient, but life isn't about convenience.
On Monday I said that Shane Claiborne chooses to live a life that many of us cannot. My friend Jesse commented:
In all reality, I think many of us CAN live this way, and will have to before long. The cold hard fact of the matter, in my opinion, is that we are going to have to live like Shane, the question is, are we going to do it now, on our own, or be forced to do it later?
He brought up a good point and what I meant by saying many of us cannot live this way was that many of us would rather not choose to live this way. I know I can't, not right now anyway. It would be difficult to jump right into living the kind of life Shane does. I've been taking baby steps though and it's been a process of focusing less on me and focusing more on others, by trying to be a little greener, and finding more opportunities to serve God. I still have a long way to go though. Jesse also commented:
Think about it. With the recession supposedly getting worse and worse lasting well into next year (I doubt this will be the last one in our lifetimes), population out of control, famine, water shortages, war...the world seems pretty unstable and scary. What I mean to say is, as Shane puts it, the world can't afford the American dream.
The so-called "American dream" has become such a nightmare for so many people. The American dream has become something that's all about the self, about getting everything you've ever wanted by stepping on others. I'm not saying people who are financially wealthy are all self-centered and greedy, but many are, and they've gained their wealth through selfish and unjust means. Then there are people like Rick Warren who I don't know much about, but I do know that he gives away 90 percent of what he earns. That's amazing! Sure, he's rich he can afford to do it, right? I'll be honest and say that I'm not at that point in my life where I feel I can give 90 percent away, but I don't think that being rich has anything to do with that kind of generosity.
Think about it, we were born completely naked, we came into this world with absolutely nothing except for two eyes, a nose, and 1,998 other parts (according to Lever soap). Everything we have has been given to us by God, it all belongs to him. Some might say "Nuh-uh! I work for my money! I've earned it with my own two hands!" Who gave you those hands, who formed you in the womb? God gives us everything we've ever had and doesn't demand we return anything to him, but he does encourage us to take what he has given us to use it for his kingdom. Our money, our time, and our talents. That's where the sharing and giving comes in to play. And let us not give just because God says it is good to do so, but let's feel good when we give. Give cheerfully, because even if you give and then complain about it, it still means you're selfish. Yes, harsh but true. I've been there, and I still go there sometimes. There are still times when I give reluctantly and I need to get over it.
I watched a film by Akira Kurosawa called "Dreams". It was a collection of eight short films, each about 15 minutes long. I'm going to show you the final story in that film. I found it on YouTube in two different parts. It's called "Village of the Water Mills". Turn down the lights, get some popcorn and enjoy!
Part One
Part Two
When I watched this film I thought to myself, "What a peaceful place, I want to live there." I think it's appropriate that the film is called dreams. Perhaps what was shown in the film should be the new American dream. I don't know how long I could live like that though. I've grown up in a culture with too many unecessary convieniences. My favorite part of that film is where the traveler makes the point that it gets very dark at night and the old man points out the obvious, so funny. I really do want to learn to live like that but it will take time and I don't know if I'll ever quite get to where the old man in the film is, but like I said before, I'm taking baby steps. By the way, if you watched the clips, how many of you have the song from the funeral procession stuck in your head? Good luck getting that out of there. Come back tomorrow and we'll finish up the week.
To end this post I want to challenge people who think being alone and doing everything on your own is the best way to live by reading this:
There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:8-12)
