This post first appeared on my former blog Oct. 29, 2010.
Mankind’s first recordings of communication came in the form of cave paintings. Long before written language was commonly read, people shared their ideas through pictures. Often simplified to key symbols, we still see remnants of this communication today: automobile emblems, the Nike “wing” graphic, the Golden Arches. These images elicit a general thought or emotion from us.
As early artists honed their craft and discovered new tools, they found ways to tell more complex stories. Through the Middle Ages and into the Italian Renaissance, artists explored ways of sharing character and emotion within their paintings and sculptures.
Today, art appears in our stories from picture books, comics to graphic novels. It surrounds us on signs, billboards, magazine ads. Our museums showcase a wide variety of artistic styles and mediums. Still photographs truly tell a thousand words, just look in any back issue of National Geographic or Life magazine. Everyone creates art. Come on–don’t you doodle?
The other night, NBC Nightly News showcased a young artist from Haiti in their Making A Difference segment. Jerry Moses is a 26-year-old guerrilla artist best-known for his graffiti art that decorates walls throughout Port-au-Prince. In the nine monhts since a devastating earthquake destroyed much of his country only two percent of the rubble has been removed. The possibility of cholera threatens the local population of 1.3 million, many of whom are living beneath sheets and tarps.
International relief workers face language barriers. Local government faces the challenge of communicating key messages to population with a 70% illiteracy rate. This is when aid groups tapped into the art of Jerry Moses. His latest murals throughout Port-au-Prince convey simple messages such as Clean Water Saves Lives. Watch the Video.
It’s easy for us to turn up our noses at graffiti–the awful curse words and violent-appearing letters, the loud colors and oversized images. And it’s equally easy to judge the type of people who use spray paint to leave their mark buildings, railroad cars, bridges, etc. But Moses challenges those stereotypes by using his art to spread positive messages and pave a brighter future for his country.
Take some time this weekend to slow down and really look at a favorite family photo, a child’s drawing, a local statue or visit an area museum. Can you feel the stories? If you need some quick ideas on how this works, check outShennanigans, a blog that features one picture per day. The images got my creativity jump-started.
Feel free to leave me names and links of your favorite artists, museums or art movements. For instance, I’m a big fan of the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. I own a print of his “Three Young Surrealist Women Holding In Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra.” (It’s on the linked page, just scroll down.) Until Monday….