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Tuesday, 13 February 2007 |
I spent an enlightening afternoon at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in Manhattan compliments of Maui raised New Yorker Anne Sakutori. As I strolled the 6 stories of art I found myself immersed in the works of Picasso, Cezanne, Monet, Gauguin, Dali, Chagall, Kandinsky, Miro', Rousseau, Pollock, Mondrian, Warhol, O'Keeffe and Matisse. Almost seems wrong to group those names up in a bunch like that… separating art masters by only a comma. Then I had to catch my breath when right before my eyes, I stood before Vincent van Gogh’s (small letter v in van) ‘The Starry Night’. The security guard had his eyes on me as I leaned into it, just inches. Inches I say, inches.
It wasn’t that big. It was only paint. It was only canvas. And that Starry Night wasn’t that magical. But you see, to Vincent van Gogh it was. Yes, he was a little crazy, but he found such beauty in everyday things, enough to want to capture that moment and suspend it in time forever. And only after he decided to paint it was I, like the millions of people who have seen his work, able to pause in my life and admire the beauty of a single night.
When I think of the sunflower he painted, I realize that it is dead and gone. But he found it so special that he decided to trade a portion of his life for that flower. Not one of currency but something of much more value. Time. Now his painting ‘Sunflower’ lives forever. When I see Vincent van Gogh’s paintings I realize that I am looking at his life. I realize that an artist is not considered great because of their technique, but that an artist is great because of their passion.
So I stood amazed at the MoMA that day. It was not Vincent van Gogh’s painting that captured me. It was the depth of his passion.
Of course none of us at WHITE are famous artists, but we really do love our work.
WHITE may only be paper, but to Karen, it is an expression of her vision.
WHITE may only be words, but to Tanna, it is her desire to find the beauty in everyone.
WHITE may only be a business, but to Bryson, it is a definition of his life.
WHITE may only be about people, but to me each person we feature is a reason for my existence.
WHITE is called a Bookazine. But we see it as our passion.
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