Cities, collective societies, go back to Neolithic peoples like Gobekli Tepe in Turkey. The massive stone pillars are adorned with sculptural reliefs of wild animals. The people there shared artistic values: culture. Centers brought nomads together to build monuments and celebrate human creativity.
The visual art remains but music and dance were undoubtedly a part of their lives. There was much pride.
“The “City by the Sea,” is Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s imagining of ideal architecture. In Siena Italy in the 1300s, idealism in religion, art, architecture and government were reflected in the hope and optimism of the period—then a plague would sweep through and would leave the city abandoned.
In “View of Toledo” by El Greco, the city is alive, not a collection of structures, but a living, mystical breathing organism. It rises from the earth and joins the sky in a celebration of existence. Many see the sky as threatening—a warning. Maybe, but I see it as the expansive mind of a master. But that era is over.
In “View of Delft” by Vermeer, the medieval Dutch city preens with pride. There was an exalted sense of belonging to a people that had been pushed into the North Sea but responded by becoming a global naval power that produced some of the greatest art and artists in history. But that era of glory is long gone.
From Jericho to Chinese dynasties. To Egypt, Athens, Rome, Turkey…Ethiopia. All have had their time. The arts of all kinds blossomed and reached levels still idolized today.
Tom Bucci’s Pittsburg was an industrial force in a young nation—a prideful place. It grew mostly out of location and the growing need for iron and manufacturing. During World War II it was the center of hurried production.
Manhattan was bought with trinkets. It quickly flourished and prospered from the fragments of world civilizations and became a sparkling diamond—the quintessential American culture. This painting by Michael Francis depicts New York in all of its architectural grandeur. But as quickly as it grew, it is declining. Art is no longer prominent—it is becoming as dark and dangerous as any international city.
Great art is still being produced, but when cities decline there is enormous trauma and faces turn away from the arts. Survival of the individual becomes foremost. People, cities and their countries slide into emotional depression. What we know as PTSD—spreads exponentially.
It was art that made us human and brought us together. It is the arts and culture that allow us to ascend from the bad times to the magnificent. We need to climb into the light and reach for the spiritualism that makes hope possible. We, the world, must join in the communal prayer that is the beauty and vision of art.
The Park may be the only place in NY where you can feel in the city and of the city at the same time.
Theres a Zion in all our hearts. I've always loved the fact that New York has Central Park in the center of it it just feels fitting despite how fast passed the rest of the city is.