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This world is divided into three types of people; those that create art, those that provide services for artists, and those that benefit from the service of artists.
- M.M. Lloyd
Art & The DaVinci Code
Many years ago while working as an illustrator with the Government, my supervisor and I had a slight disagreement regarding who was the better artists - the artists of the "High Renaissance", including Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian and a few other well know artists, or the artists of today. My position was that the artists of the High Renaissance were/are the better artists. His position was the latter.
Like most of us, I have always admired the art of the High Renaissance: their abilities in drawing and painting, their knowledge of anatomy, perspective and architecture, their use of color, light and shadows, and their dedication to the overall composition of their artwork. Their accomplishments place them on a level that has been rather difficult to match. The results were often a learning experience in both painting and history.
Now, this does not imply that artists of today are not excellent artists, it simply mean that we are living in different times and conditions and our artwork are reflective of the times that we are living in. Today we have different goals, different motivation and different standards.
The artwork of the High Renaissance is so compelling that one never tires of viewing it. And just when you think you have absorbed everything they have to offer, something new comes to the surface. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, exposes an entirely new dimension in the artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci. As if the artwork on the surface was not enough, he provides viewers with a secondary layer of symbols and subliminal messages that provides a story within the principle story
.
In the Da Vinci Code, the author Dan Brown points out that "the Mona Lisa's status as the most famous piece of art in the worlds, had nothing to do with her enigmatic smile. Nor was it due to the mysterious interpretations attributed her by many art historians and conspiracy buffs. Quite simply, the Mona Lisa was famous because Leonardo da Vinci clamed she was his finest accomplishment. He carried the painting with him whenever he traveled and, if asked why, would reply that he found it hard to part with his most sublime expression of female beauty."
This story continues by saying that the Mona Lisa represents both female and male principles, an androgyny, representing Amon and Isis, two of the most celebrated ancient Egyptian gods. The name Mona Lisa itself is a bit of an anagram spelling the names of these two Egyptian Gods.
The story continues with author Dan Brown providing readers with information on a variety of symbolic and subliminal messages regarding Da Vinci's Last Supper, the Vitruvian Man, Virgin of the Rocks as well as the Egyptian sun disk and various aspects of religion, history and art.
Since reading the book, I have been encouraged to revisit several of my books, including: Art through the ages, The Art treasures of Europe, Nile Valley Contribution to Civilization and of course books on Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. All in an effort to reexamine the works by the artists of the High Renaissance and gain greater understanding of the messages they may be trying to convey.
Leonardo Da Vinci has taught us a lesson from the grave. In order to fully understand and appreciate art, one needs to look beyond the surface, view it as a child, with mind and eyes wide open, and always asking… why.
Malik M. Lloyd
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Event Section
Frida Kahlo: Her Pain & Her Art: A Fridaphile’s Perspective with Lenny Campello - DC
Thursday, July 17th, 2008, 5:30 – 8 PM. "The Washington Post once called Lenny Campello a "Fridaphile since age 17," and for 30 years the well-known DC area art personality has been seduced by Kahlo's work and life. In this talk Campello will discuss Kahlo in terms of an artist defined and iconized by her artwork, in spite of tremendous hurdles and problems." July is the anniversary month of Frida Kahlo’s birth and death. Married to muralist, Diego Rivera, Frida always painted herself: her pain, her anguish, her sorrow, her passion, as well as her triumph over disability. Frida Kahlo’s paintings and retablos celebrate a life constantly reinventing itself, in spite of the physical disability that strove to confine it. F. Lennox Campello, long a “Fridaphile”, is one of the Mid-Atlantic's best know arts personalities. Lenny is a widely published freelance art critic, a curator, an award winning artist, a radio and TV personality often heard on NPR, the Voice of America and MHZ TV's "ArtsMedia News" discussing art issues. He is also one of the internet's seminal visual arts bloggers. His Daily Campello Art News is one of the web's earliest and most popular art blogs with nearly a million visitors a year. Lenny is also the co-founder of the Fraser Galleries of Washington, DC and Bethesda, Maryland. Lenny is currently developing a new gallery in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. We will also be screening a 10 minute award-winning, independent film by Liz Crow of Roaring Girl Productions in the UK , Frida Kahlo’s Corset. Free. Creativity in Extremis Series | Smith Farm Healing Arts Gallery | 1632 U Street NW | Washington, DC 20009 | 202-483-8600 | heal@smithfarm.com or darien@smithfarm.com
Murals DC Kick Off - DC
Please join representatives from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Department of Public Works and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham for the Murals DC kick off. The event will be hosted by DJ Kool. There will also be performances by DJ sixth Sense, Hip Hop dancers and youth students of the Midnight Forum, Inc. and Words Beats and Life, Inc. When: Saturday, July 12 @ 11:00 AM. Where: 2407 Georgia Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001. Parking Lot next to Sankofa Books.
DON'T MISS THE MARVELS OF MARTIN PURYEARS' MAGNIFICENT SCULPTURES - DC
AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, DC, now through September 28, 2008. Seeing Puryears sculptures up-close in all their dynamic complexity and precision grasps the sheer accomplishments of their aesthetic significance. This announcement is provided by artwerpii@hotmail.com, in appreciation for the opportunity to see great art. " Being in the Q with ArtWERP 2 "
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