some shards of light in January...

The Art of Renewal
I would like to say a few words of appreciation for a recent gift to the nation by a carefully assembled collection of artists performing at the capital for the inauguration of President Obama.
There is a necessity for art in ritual.
A dear departed friend and colleague of mine, the painter Fran Gillespie, often said,
"Art heals what wars have torn apart".
To not just survive, but to thrive, a society needs its artists.
Our senses are awakened and massaged by the experience of art. This was made evident to me as I watched the ritual pageant of the inauguration, and the few days of celebration that preceded the ceremony, on January 20, 2009.
The whole event was framed by artistic expressions like that of the poet Elizabeth Alexander's carefully and elegantly crafted poem that beautifully augmented the president's speech. In the poem I heard a creative artist speaking to the creativity inherent in every person's daily occupation, recognizing that art is the province of every human being, that creators are renewing America every day by making a life and in turn making a country through their labors.
I think most people would agree that the country has been entrenched in a dark time with little hope in sight, so the musical quartet performing John Williams "Air to Simple Gifts" seemed to weave joy from sorrow as the somber beginning notes unfolded to become hopeful and celebratory like winter turning into spring. Transformative.
I can't forget Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul's deeply felt rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee". The singer clearly owns her space and from that space she awakened the heart and spirit of a bruised nation.