Were you Born to Appreciate Art?

I guess it's just Russian week. You know what they say about things coming in threes. Anyway, I've been reading this highly recommended, award-winning novel, “Bel Canto.” It is very well written, and that one factor has been what has been the motivation for getting through the first half of the book. Really 200 pages is much too long to set the stage. It has been in the second half of the book, however, that I have come to see why the author, Ann Patchett received not one but three prestigious literary awards.

For instance this quote about art, beginning at the bottom of page 218 where Russian diplomat Victor Fyodorov has procured the services of the translator to profess his love to Roxane Coss, a brilliant opera singer who is held in captivity with him and about 90 other people. “Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. Don’t you think? It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world’s greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see.”



The Fortune Teller

That says it all. To honor the beauty of Fyodorov’s words, I share with you the passionate expression of Russian artist Alexey Yesjunin in his work: “The Fortune Teller.”-- Ruth Mitchell

(c) 2006 - Ruth Mitchell - all rights reserved