A good armchair, wonderful poetry and… some other serious stuff

I heard the Dawn Chorus again this morning.  Still dark. Why do they get up so early? Why do they sound so happy, so full of joy?  And why is it I cannot sleep?

I was delighted to have two paintings selected for the RHA Annual Exhibition. (the two faces on this page)  There was 5,313 submissions but only 346 pieces selected for exhibition in the end.  So last Sunday I was at the Varnishing Day and that was nice.  I met loads of old friends.

Before the opening I had been to a book launch and listened to the wonderful poems of Geraldine Mitchell.  Naming Love.

I wondered afterwards about the RHA – and what art was for.  Landscape?  Colour?  Realism?  I don’t know anymore.  Is it to express emotions?  To reflect?  To inspire?  To provoke?  Or is it to decorate our houses?

In an increasingly dangerous world, the leaders who we might’ve once thought were ‘the good guys’ – well, those leaders are now facilitating and financing genocide. We’re seeing some of the worst crimes of the 21st century, livestreamed to us daily.

I never thought I’d say this but (ahem) ‘Fairplay to our Taoiseach’ for his stance against ethnic cleansing. In the past this would’ve been a given – but now – what a world we’re living in and yet, the birds keep singing, the flowers still bloom.

But more and more is being spent on weapons of war, while the Climate Crisis is ignored… and the mainstream media simply plays along.  In this situation, surely art can do more than dream of  “balance, purity and serenity”, as Henri Matisse once wrote… “a soothing, calming influence on the mind”, he wrote, “rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue…”

Jo Killalea: “Lamentation”, oil on gesso panel, 23 x 28 cm

Now it’s true of course, I could do with a good armchair myself.  Beauty soothes the soul.  But, to quote from a poem by Geraldine Mitchell: News of war bursts from the radio, sluices over, round and into me.  Can we really stand idly by while these war crimes continue?  Surely artists must at least bear witness.

Very few pieces like that at the RHA but the painting above by Jo Killalea entitled: “Lamentation” struck a cord with me.  She is a Mayo artist who worked for years in East Africa.  Her paintings explore issues of land use, inequality, famine, migration and climate change.

https://rhagallery.ie/

https://www.geraldinemitchell.net/

https://jokillalea.com/

https://www.oliviercornetgallery.com/

Finally, it seems that WordPress has made some changes recently so that I can’t see anymore who you are when you write your comment (Probably something to do with GDPR) so, if you don’t mind, can you please write your name after the comment – or even your intials would be nice, thank you – I always appreciate your feedback.