Robert Genn's Twice Weekly Letter
Insight and inspiration for your artistic career.

Dear Artist,

Naturally, when Leonard Cohen came to Lucca we went to see him. To quote daughter Sara: "These days, if you happen to be a poet you have to sing your words to get your ideas out." Cohen is beloved in Europe. You can see why--genuine concerns, fearless confrontations, sensitivity and a realist understanding for the eternal questions of love, intimacy, fidelity, weakness and freedom. A smile under an old fedora doffed frequently to thank his enthusiasts and to re-announce his brilliant collaborators--the guy's real.

His songs of hope and pessimism, his simple words delivered slowly and clearly, cross the Babel of languages. Italians understand him--they laugh, cry, and sway to the familiar beat.

Music moves us on a level that visual art does not. It's knitted in a prescribed time and is not editable like a passage through the Uffizi Gallery. Goodness, I spoke to a chap who went up to Florence and "did" the Uffizi in an hour. The gilt of guilt, the miracles of legend, the holy wars, and the soft arrival of the free spirit take application to digest. Many cannot take the time. Music will always be a quicker fix.

Visual art is, of course, all in the same language for all mankind. In the Uffizi, audio-guides can be had in multiple languages. Guidebooks are available in at least eight. The majority of visitors go through without the benefit. They let the paintings and sculptures do the talking, bypassing what they find to be the less talkative. Many of the most appealing works are simply the familiar stars--Botticelli's Venus, Leonardo's enigmatic smiles, Fra Filippo Lippi's cuddly Madonnas.

While the performing musician may eventually come around to the familiar and desired themes for the listener, he essentially controls what he wants you to hear and in the order he wants you to hear it. Lingering in, or especially when blasting through, the Uffizi, you get to edit the 10th to the 17th centuries.

Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. (Leonard Cohen)

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Poetry is superior to painting in the presentation of words, and painting is superior to poetry in the presentation of facts. For this reason I judge painting to be superior to poetry." (Leonardo da Vinci) "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." (Leonardo da Vinci)

Esoterica: Cohen says he was blessed with a golden voice. We are all blessed with something or other. We gather our blessings and use them as best we can. "We are so lightly here. It is in love that we are made. In love we disappear." (Leonard Cohen)

If you would like to read more information related to the above letter please visit the Of music and painting clickback


* SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES* : www.PaintersKeys.com