.jpg)
Started working this month on a new show of paintings on the theme of America's Seven Cardinal Virtues. Here's the list so far. Still in formation.
America's Seven Cardinal Virtues
1) The strength of communities. Diversity, altruism, the gorgeous mosaic, the helping hand, the power of the collective dream.
Personally, I'm a member of a bunch of communities, Woodstock, ex-New Yorkers, WDS parents, soccer parents, disgusted Democrats and so on. Most of these communities provide support of all kinds to their members. This is the painting above: "Virtue #1: We/The strength of communities" Charity, altruism, helping hand. Artist's grants, soup kitchens, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Foreign Aid. Wow. We really are a nation of helpful people. Billions in tsunami aid and thousands of volunteers in New Orleans. Could we do more or could we have done more is not the question here because regardless of that answer, the fact is, we do tons.
2) The opportunity for prosperity. It's the cliche that's true. America is still the place where cleverness and hard work pays off more than anywhere else. We expect it to be true and it is.
3) Freedom. It's the enabler of opportunity but so much else: freedom of speech, religion, travel, sin. We take advantage of these freedoms every day and yet take them for granted, too.
4) The expectation of justice (equality) The injustices make the headlines, but the myriad petty justices that make up most people's days don't. The stiving, the feeling that equality is a right. Is there liberty and justice for all or merely for most? Maybe just for some? If we fall short of our goal of absolute liberty and justice, have we still succeeded? Can this really be one of our best traits? I'm an upper middle or lower upper class white guy, can I really even answer this question? Related to freedom and community.
5) The embrace of the new. Our relationship to change, seeking it out, embracing it, fomenting it. The acceptance of new ideas and products. Flitting. The explorer's spirit. Lewis and Clark, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Samuel Goldwyn, Sam Warner, Alfred Hitchcock, Billie Holiday, Buckminster Fuller, Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ray Kroc, Elvis Presley, Miles Davis, Diane Arbus, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Ebay. Eee-gads. The spirit of invention, The Spirit of St. Louis, on and on. Makes me want to join the chant: U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
6) Diversity. The gorgeous mosaic. If Mayor David Dinkins gave us nothing else, he gave us this fresh take on the concept of the melting pot. In NYC especially, nothing's melting together, everyone's asserting their individuality at the same time, resulting in a gorgeous mosaic, a pointillist masterpiece where the colors are blended in the eyes of the beholder and not on the canvas of our country. (Thank you for your indulgence.) I love this aspect of America. It really is a great big place with attitudes and customs varying widely from spot to spot and not just over big distances like from new orleans to minneapolis, but also from woodstock to tannersville. unabridged dictionary page with animals representing main immigrant countries.
7) Optimism. This is an undercurrent to much of the above. The optimistic nature pervades our sense of community and our explorer's spirit, it is there in our expectation of justice and equality, it shapes our freedom. It is a part of all the other virtues but deserves to be counted as its own thing. It's huge. Sometimes it's blindly naive, sometimes well-informed. It manifests itself as a swagger on the world stage that we may find repugnant and also as a dedication to finding the cure that we find so inspiring. Optimism, it's what's for lunch.
