Arts and Culture: Importance, meaning and the Arts Council.

 

Hello, and welcome back to the labyrinth.  In today's post, I would like to talk about the importance of the arts and culture, and what they might mean, in our lives.  For me, art, in any form, can be inspiring and regenerative, can stun the senses creating wonderment (for example, the first time I saw Turner's work in London, and Monet's work in Paris - all I could say and think was 'Wow...'), and can massively enhance our mood.  It feels good to read a great book, to be an audience member at a great play, film or concert, or to produce something creative yourself, doesn't it?  Culture, for me, represents humanity in action - the road map of how we have lived and are living, and what we think, feel and believe.  In today's multi-cultural society, then, the inevitable blending of artistic and cultural ideas should be more interesting and exciting than ever.

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On This Day:

On this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was opened in Paris. 

You can read more via history.com here.

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On This Day:

 

On this day in 1918, the composer Claude Debussy died in Paris aged 55.

 

(from: http://www.historyorb.com). 

 

You can watch Angela Hewitt play ‘Clair de Lune’ via YouTube here.

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On This Day:

On this day in 1918, Paris was hit by shells from a new German gun. 

You can read about it via history.com here .

ARTS & CULTURE: Spring-time and accessing art.

Hello, and welcome.  Today, I’m writing to you from London, and it feels like Spring has finally ‘sprung’.  This week we’ve had long periods of beautiful sunshine and everyone seems to be celebrating the fact that it has finally stopped raining!  Everything outside looks renewed and refreshed; the trees are covered in blossom, daffodils are bobbing their cheerful, bright yellow heads about and there are countless buds and shoots bursting out all over.  It makes you want to go out and enjoy it; perhaps sketch or paint what you see...  There’s a sense of seeing things anew in Spring, don’t you think?  I guess it’s because light and shade are now more clearly defined and the shapes of the living things around us change as they grow.  We’re aware at this time of year of growth and life, and the riot of colour that rings out from various spring-flowering bulbs and blossom.  So light and warmth bring life and enjoyment, which leads me (finally!) to the point of today’s post.

The Daily Maze

On This Day:

Charles Frederick Worth, an English fashion designer and considered by some to be the father of haute couture, died on this day in 1895 in Paris. 

You can read about him in Wikipedia here and from the Metropolitan Museum of Art here. 

The Daily Maze

On This Day:

On this day in 1908, the New York to Paris auto race started from Times Square.

(from: http://www.historyorb.com)

You can read about it here and watch a video here.

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On This Day:

On this day in 1893, the British explorer/travel writer Dame Freya Stark was born in Paris.

(from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freya_Stark)

Click here to read A Talk With Freya Stark from the 1977 print edition of Saudi Aramco World.