I only wish that I'd known my self better when I was younger. I would have liked to have majored in Art History, not that being a History major was far off... but perhaps I could have pursued a career in art. I remember being fascinated with art history even in grade school. One of my Social Studies books had a picture of the Venus of Willendorf on its bright, glossy pages and it has forever captured my imagination. If you aren't familiar with this comfortable little sculpture, she is alittle over 4 inches high, and was carved from limestone between 22,000 and 21,000 B.C.E. She was discovered by Austro- Hungarian archaeologist Josef Szombathy in 1908 near the village of Willendorf in Austria. It's interesting to read what all the scholars have decided that see represents, from a fertility idol to a self-portrait. What I find so amazing about her is that during a time when human beings needed to direct all their energies on surviving, someone would have found the time to create art. Human beings have always and will always feel a need to create art in some form, it is as basic as eating, sleeping, and breathing. The Venus of Willendorf proves that.
I've said for years that some of the best philosophers are movie writers. Even not-so-great movies can have that one gem in them. Last night I came across one such gem in the appropriately named "Paycheck." The line was "Some of the best things in life are mistakes."
ReplyDeleteFor better or worse, the mistakes we make in life are what bring us to where we are. It's always easiest to look back and say "what if," it a lot harder to look forward and say "how about."
With all that I've seen here and on Flickr, I say start asking "how about" and see where it leads you.