“At this point I reveal myself in my true colours, as a stick-in-the-mud. I hold a number of beliefs that have been repudiated by the liveliest intellects of our time. I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think that knowledge is preferable to ignorance, and I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology. I believe that in spite of the recent triumphs of science, men haven’t changed much in the last two thousand years; and in consequence we must still try to learn from history. History is ourselves. I also hold one or two beliefs that are more difficult to put shortly. For example, I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people’s feelings by satisfying our own egos. And I think we should remember that we are part of a great whole, which for convenience we call nature. All living things are our brothers and sisters. Above all, I believe in the God-given genius of certain individuals, and I value a society that makes their existence possible.”
These are not my words—though I wish they were—since they so well echo my own ‘quaint’ ‘old-fashioned’ thinking. They were written by Kenneth Clark, British art historian, near the end of his book Civilisation, first printed in 1969.
The book—which was based on the seminal TV series of the same name—was given to me by my dear friends, Henry Kutzko and Jaan Reitav on the occasion of my 21st birthday. Reading it again forty years later, it is clear to me how influential this book has been in the formation of my artistic tastes and my historical perspective.
And how delightful all these years later to look at some of the book's illustrations of paintings, sculpture and architecture and say to myself, “yes! I’ve seen that! It truly is magnificent!”
I did not pursue a study in history at university, other than auditing a course of ancient Greek history at one point. But always stories of the past have nagged at me. They have made up the bulk of my material in my writing, both my dramas and my fiction and, more often than not, I have paid almost obsessive attention to great ‘individuals’ of the past, both mythic and historical.
Like Kenneth Clark, at some fundamental level, I seem to believe in the transcendent power of “genius”.
The book—which was based on the seminal TV series of the same name—was given to me by my dear friends, Henry Kutzko and Jaan Reitav on the occasion of my 21st birthday. Reading it again forty years later, it is clear to me how influential this book has been in the formation of my artistic tastes and my historical perspective.
And how delightful all these years later to look at some of the book's illustrations of paintings, sculpture and architecture and say to myself, “yes! I’ve seen that! It truly is magnificent!”
I did not pursue a study in history at university, other than auditing a course of ancient Greek history at one point. But always stories of the past have nagged at me. They have made up the bulk of my material in my writing, both my dramas and my fiction and, more often than not, I have paid almost obsessive attention to great ‘individuals’ of the past, both mythic and historical.
Like Kenneth Clark, at some fundamental level, I seem to believe in the transcendent power of “genius”.
If, by some chance, you’ve never seen the television series or read the book (which like most books is better and deeper than its visual counterpart), I highly recommend both. Clark gives the viewer/reader a sweeping look at European ‘civilisation’; he tries to define it, explain it, and gives us an almost heart-rending appreciation of its fragility.
Clark ends his book with a quote from W.B. Yeats which although written almost century before still sounds startlingly current:
Clark ends his book with a quote from W.B. Yeats which although written almost century before still sounds startlingly current:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Clark goes on to say, “the trouble is that there is still no centre.” In the forty plus years since Clark wrote this, I fear very little has changed. “The moral and intellectual failure of Marxism has left us with no alternative to heroic materialism [capitalism], and that isn’t enough.”
In the meantime, plant a tree, hug a friend, and make some art!
In the meantime, plant a tree, hug a friend, and make some art!
The Neophyte by Gustav Dore
