One thing I don't always understand is why some things and some people are well known and others not. Maybe it is my own mixed up priorities, but sometimes the things I value are not as highly regarded. For instance, when it comes to picking a pope...not that I have anything against the current pope, but when the position next comes available, I would pick someone like Father Antonio from the monastery in Albuquerque. He probably wouldn't be interested in the position, but he was a very kind, loving man who would be a pleasant and memorable pope, but his name is not likely to be chosen for the position.
Or how about music? I realize that some of my favorite musicians are not likely to be heard on the radio. But their music is the kind that touches the heart and makes your toes tap and your feet begin to move. Michael Kelsey, Bill Price, Madeline Peyroux and Tim Vana are not likely to be heard on your radio, but I think they are fine writers and musicians. I listened to a cd by Tim Vana on the train today from Naples to Florence and absolutely enjoyed it. His song about the life of a farmer should make him worthy of being on stage at a FarmAid concert.
Or how about art. When we walked through the Museum of Modern Art in New York I asked Diane, who was an art teacher for a while and knows something about this stuff, why some of these works were classified as art. I mean really, an all red canvas is art? Or the hodgepodge paintings that look like someone randomly threw paint onto a canvas. I guess to someone it was considered a masterpiece, but I can't help thinking that if I gave a few gallons of paint to my kids, let them wear one of my oversized shirts and turned them loose on a blank canvas, they could produce the same results. Yesterday we walked through Naples. Not a particularly pleasant city. But we had heard about a sculpture called the veiled Jesus. It isn't in a lot of the tour books that we consulted. It is not well marked and it is in a rather nondescript looking building from the outside. But this sculpture is remarkable. It looks like the body of Christ covered with a paper thin veil. The details were incredible. We have seen lots of sculptures by very famous artists, and they have been very good. But this one was moving. When we asked directions to a nearby church, a man on the street said we needed to visit this chapel to see the sculpture and then he made a gesture signifying that it would bring tears to one's eyes. Indeed it did. It is not as well known, but a very moving piece of art.
So what's my point (and does a blog really have to have a point)? I guess what I feel in my heart is that some art hangs in museums and some musicians fill large arenas and some people are recognized by multitudes of people. But there is incredible art, music and people to be found in the less familiar settings. And they are worthy of our attention. It may take a little more effort but if we keep our senses attuned, we might find beauty in unexpected places
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