The Citizen, 2001-12-19, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2001. PAGE 5.
Other Views
Does anybody remember what art is? I
knew once, many years ago. I was
standing in a cave near a town called
Altamira in northern Spain. For a few pesetas,
a local guide had agreed to escort a half dozen
of us into an already famous underground
grotto decorated with prehistoric paintings.
The beam of his flashlight flickered across
the cave wall revealing depictions of deer,
bison, a few handprints - and then the guide
flicked off the flashlight, leaving us in
complete darkness.
After a few seconds he struck a kitchen
match and as it flared, he held it close to one of
the painted bison.
The bison...breathed.
In the dancing flame of the match, the bison
seemed to come alive. A few of us actually
jumped.
The painting was 15,000 years old, put there
by a half-naked, illiterate savage who never
saw a paintbrush, much less a copy of Gray's
Anatomy, but I did not doubt for a second that
it was art. It went straight from the cave wall
through my eyes to my heart.
I've never been that sure of a piece of
art work since. I remember standing in an
art gallery in Toronto in front of a five-foot
section of sewer pipe. It was entitled "THIS IS
NOT A SEWER PIPE" and carried a price tag
of $500.
One of Canada's most famous living artists is
Jana Sterbak. Famous for what? For "Vanitas:
Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic". It's a
/
f there is one foreign aid program that I
admire for its ideals and bravery, it is the
medical help organization called Medicins
Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Time and time again I have read reports on the
members who frequently go where angels fear
to tread in order to bring medical services to
those parts of the world where it is most sadly
lacking.
It's name reveals its French origin but
doctors that operate under its banner come
from many parts of the world including
Canada. In crisis areas it is usually about the
first in and the last to leave and so untainted is
its reputation that the vast majority of warring
factions usually leave it alone in the middle of
hostilities.
MSF was formed decades ago by a group of
French doctors who were of the conviction that
all people have the right to medical care;
furthermore the needs of such people extend
beyond any respect for national borders.
It did not have to waste any time in getting
into action; its first job was to help earthquake
victims in Nicaragua and it has never looked
back.
Right from the beginning the organization
has retained both its private and non-profit
characteristics; this has enabled it to go into a
number of areas where Western and especially
French organizations might not be too
welcome.
But if MSF is French in origin, it has taken
on an international character over the years by
attracting medical personal from a number of
countries including Canada. Its funding has
also become more and more international. Not
only has the general public increased its
givings but both corporations and governments
have added to the funding, the latter as a result
of discovery of the obvious advantages which
MSF enjoy in getting basic health care where it
is needed most urgently.
It is not surprising that long before the world
had ever paid much attention to either Osama
bin Laden or the Taliban, MSF was actively
engaged in providing health care to needy
people in Afghanistan. During this time they
have been able to set up local teams that have
carried on the work started by the international
sculpture consisting of rib-eye steaks sewn
together and left to rot in public.
And I mean public. It was shown at the
National Gallery of Canada in 1989.
Or consider the opus of New Yorker d'avid
Leslie. Mister Leslie is a performance artist
who thinks "the world needs art that breaks
conventions of beauty".
That's why his latest artistic statement will
take place in a boxing ring. The artist plans to
don boxing gloves and protective head gear,
then invite anyone in the audience to come into
the ring and try to knock him out. •
"I'll be covering up," he said, "but people
will have, like, 15 uninterrupted shots at me.
It'll be cool."
Then there's the photographic artist Thomas
Condon in Cincinnati. He tried to have an art
opening consisting of photographs he'd taken
in a morgue. Condon had "arranged" various
corpses so that they were holding objects like a
syringe, sheet music and an apple. Cincinnati
police reckoned it was more like corpse abuse
than art, and Condon's been indicted - although
a local art critic allowed that "from an art
Raymond
Canon
The
International
Scene
teams, the latter of which have been forced to
leave due both to the bombing and the anti-
western sentiment developed under the
Taliban.
Only in the north where the National
Alliance holds sway; have these international
teams been allowed to continue their work
although the Taliban recognizes the importance
of MSF health care projects by allowing the
Afghan teams mentioned above to continue
their work. It is a rather tenuous situation for
these teams, since they are constantly in need of
outside help and supplies.
THE EDITOR,
The agricultural community in .Ontario is
"exceedingly disappointed— by the failure of
the provincial government to pass Bill 81, the
Nutrient Management Act 2001, before ending
the current session Dec. 13.
OFA and many other provincial farm
organizations spent considerable resources as
they worked to develop the basis for the
legislation. In a letter to the Hon. Brian
Coburn, Minister of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) I said "the
Government of Ontario has failed once again
to move forward with legislation that would
address society's concerns relating to the
management of nutrients used in agricultural
production."
I promised the minister that a thorough
analysis of OFA consultations will be provided
to the ministry next month. The OFA just
completed a nine-meeting consultation
schedule with farmers across the province,
seeking input for the regulations that have to be
perspective, there is a precedent for (such an
exhibit)".
Perhaps the What Is Art question came full
circle at an exhibit in Birmingham, England
last spring. The exhibit consisted of...nothing..
There were no sculptures on the floor,
no paintings on display - only stark white
walls and a few cardboard signs that
read "Exhibition to Be Constructed in Your
Head".
An organizer explained that it was "an
experiment to see how people react to it".
They want to be careful about encouraging
public judgement. They should bear in mind
what happened at an avant-garde space called
the Eyestorm Gallery in London's trendy West
End. Gallery officials opened their doors the
morning after a launch party for artist Damien
Hirst, only to discover that one of Mister
Hirst's installations had disappeared!
Police questioned a building cleaner,
Emmanuel Asare who readily admitted that
when he saw a coffee table littered with
cigarette butts, empty beer bottles, pop cans
and paper cups, he sighed, swept the whole
thing into ,a Hefty bag and tossed it in a
dumpster.
When he was informed that he had
dismantled a work of art valued at $12,000,
Asare shrugged and said, "I didn't think for a
second that it was a work of art. Didn't look
much like art to me".
The world needs more art critics like
Emmanuel Asare.
But it is nothing short of amazing how wide-
spread the activities of MSF really are. I was
recently doing some research on the
Mongolian economy and was surprised to
learn that MSF teams had been in there for
over two years trying to control the spread of
AIDS.
When the doctors involved believed that they
had made sufficient progress, they handed over
their organization to the local authorities whom
they had trained during their presence and
moved on to other needy countries.
It goes without saying that they are quite
active in Africa where the spread of AIDS has
reached epidemic proportions.
It also goes without saying that MSF finally
attained true recognition of its activities by
receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. It would
not be amiss to award them an annual honorary
prize since the work that they did in that year
and even before has been matched ever since.
They are truly one of the great humanitarian
agencies of this planet.
written to support the legislation.
The need is urgent to establish farm-specific
nutrient management plans as the provincial
standard. I cited ongoing situations where
farmers have met existing requirements for
nutrient management plans (NMP), along with
OMAFRA guidelines, and yet find their plans
to expand their farming enterprise impeded at
the municipal level.
There is a real concern that an approval
process can be disrupted by anyone who
happens to disagree with a decision. It is
absolutely essential that a mechanism be put in
place that deals quickly and decisively--with
any appeal launched against a NMP.
My letter to the minister requested an
OMAFRA/agricultural community consulta-
tion on the necessary regulations early in
the new year as a means of ensuring the
regulations are ready for implementation once
the legislation is passed sometime in 2002. "
Jack Wilkinson,
OFA President.
From babes' mouths
/
t 's the season of love, kindness, joy and
peace. The latter three are quite easily
understood. We show kindness through our
generosity to others. There is joy in our smiles
as we wish each other a Merry Christmas and
on the faces of youngsters as they greet Santa
Claus. Peace of the manner to which we aspire
is allusive, but there is no question we all are
clear on what it means.
Love, on the other hand, is a little more
ambiguous. From the time we first recognize
the feelings we have for Mommy and Daddy
are different than those we hold for others, to
our own commitment to another individual for
better or worse we discover that love has many
faces. From our own commitment to another
individual for better or worse to the confusion
of young love pondering how to recognize the
real thing there is little doubt that love is never
simple.
I've been on the end of that last question and
know how difficult it can be to answer. For each
person love is not just unique but mysterious.
What we feel; what we do is often just too hard
to put into words: Thus, when someone finds a
way to sum it up, I just can't help but be
impressed. Particularly if it comes from the
mouths of babes.
"Love is what's in the room with you at
Christmas if you stop opening presents and
listen?'
Now think about that. This sage comment
apparently came from Bobby, age five.
I received an e-mail recently that contained a
number of these gems allegedly culled from a
survey of youngsters by professionals. Their
question was "What does love mean?"
Admittedly I have no idea if this is on the level;
it did come from the internet. But it seems to
possess that naive wisdom so visible in children
and most I found too good not to share.
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she
couldn't bend over and paint her toenails
anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all
the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.
That's love." Rebecca - age 8
"When someone loves you, the way they say
your name is different." Billy - age 4
"Love is when you go out to eat and give
somebody most of your French fries without
making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy -
age 6
"Love is what makes you smile when you're
tired." Terri - age 4
"If you want to learn to love better, you
should start with a friend whom you hate."
Nikka - age 6
"Love is like a little old woman and a little
old man who are still friends even after they
know each other so well." Tommy - age 6
"My mommy loves me more than' anybody.
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at
night." Clare - age 5
"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best
• piece of chicken." Elaine - age 5
"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly
and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than
Robert Redford." Chris - age 8
"Love is when your puppy licks your face
even after you left him alone all day." Mary
Ann - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she
gives me all her old clothes and has to go 'bUt
and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes
go up and down and little stars come out of
you." Karen - age 7
I hope these brought a Christmas smile to
your face and some perhaps even got you
thinking.
The question is, is it art?
The finest foreign aid program there is
Letter to the Editor