Edvard Munch, Nowegian Impressionist Painter, "The Scream" auctioned, 2 May 2012
With events of
today combining, I have to break my personal rule of one post per week. One of
the four iconic "Scream"s of the Norwegian Impressionist Edvard Munch
will go on the auction block today at Sotheby's New York and expects to set
records. This only seems either ironic and/or tragic when set against the shockingly
horrible events of last June in Norway for which Anders Behring Breivik is now
on trial.
"The
Scream" is a pictorial political commentary of the effect of the modern industrial world on the human psyche. It appears almost ironic that in Norway,
a psychotic individual thought it appropriate to murder nearly dozens of
people to stop what he thought was a Muslim take over of the country. Most of his victims were young people at a leadership camp aimed at
encouraging inclusion and diversity.
As someone who
relishes cultural diversity, I cannot be anything otherwise but horrified and
confused by Breivik's actions. I grew up in an incredibly diverse atmosphere
and specifically chose my own child's school for its cultural diversity.
I can
understand the fear Brevick faced as he imagined his culture was vanishing
under an open-arms immigration policy but I see it only as an opportunity to
grow. Here in South Florida the environment has changed dramatically within the
past ten years. However, if we examine the past when Flagler's railroad
hastened the erosion of the Seminole culture that existed here which only
developed once US expansion forced them into Miccosukee territory not to
mention the thousands of cultures that have been assimilated, decimated and
forgotten over the millennia of human existence. Most of these occurred in
horrific war-time events. But, we are "civilized", now. We are
educated. We are more accepting of our differences....aren't we?
We should take
pride in our history, our heritage. Love it, embrace it, share it. But, please,
never allow it isolate you and more importantly, never allow it to be a force
for hate to grow.
Links:
Update: Final price $119,922,500 USD, a record for a painting sold at auction.
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