Thursday, July 2, 2015

And I for an Eye

Ok, I know its Fourth of July weekend, and I shouldn't be talking about work, however, I need to touch briefly on the art on the wall of my office.   Here it is:  



Ta da!   Ok, that's an old picture from my old office downtown taken four years ago.   Here is what my office looks like in the photo I took today at work: 


Ta da!  This painting, by former Springfield artist Andrew Woolbright is of Sir Thomas More, the almost patron saint of Lawyers.  He wrote the book "Utopia" and for his efforts, he was beheaded by King Henry VIII.  There is a famous original portrait of Sir Thomas More painted in 1527 by More's friend Hans Holbein which now hangs in the Frick Collection in New York City.   As you can see, Woolbright's painting is an abstract version of the Hobein masterpiece:  



I was intrigued by Woolbright's abstract riff on the original portrait.   I mean here we have the "original" lawyer, all black and white, full of clear cut and unambiguous rules, regulations, checks and balances being morphed into abstraction where nothing is clear and everything is blurry.   What might seem like a good Utopian idea in the abstract becomes messy and fuzzy upon implementation. Indeed, Woolbright told me that his original vision for the painting was to juxtapose More with the "Utopian" St. Louis public housing project of  Pruitt-Igoe of 1950s St. Louis which ended as ignominiously as More's neck.   I discussed Pruitt-Igoe in a blog in 2011:


Also interesting is Woolbright's treatment of the More's eyes.   Note in the original portrait, More's left eye seems tired as if it has seen too much of this world, while his right eye retains its steadfast vision of some ephemeral truth:


Christopher Andre, in his book "Looking at Mindfulness" states that one eye is "sharp with attention" while the other is "soft with compassion."  Andre suggests that we cultivate a mindfulness practice "capable of both."

It is fascinating that Woolbright picks up on the difference in the eyes in his painting:



Note that More's left eye in Woolbright's treatment is clear and sober, like a placid pond while the right eye is obscured in swirls.

Draw from this what you will.   I certainly will.   We are creatures of dreams and creatures of practicality all rolled into one.   May we keep our head on our shoulders.

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