Art inspires Art

To understand Canada one has to visit the McMichael Art Gallery www.mcmichael.com or McMichael Canadian Art Collection(-as it is known now) in Kleinberg and please, bring some time.

It is not only an art gallery and an education center for the subject of Canadian art, it is also an event center. Opera York is honoured to be able to give a concert there on the Friday February 10th. Being an all-Canadian opera company, working with Canadian artists , making (musical) art available to many people, like the gallery, makes this a very desirable situation. Just imagine having your visual senses vitalized and then being enveloped in the alluring sounds of Mozart.

If you have only the smallest desire to be an artist yourself, you will rush home and try to create something , and you should. The urge to create lies within all of us I believe; but most of us do not do much with it for various reasons. It does not matter what you create, it might just be a doodle, or a note in your journal about what you just experienced, or you decide to go and see The Magic Flute and visit an art gallery more often.

If you are like me, you would paint something or write a poem, which I have often done after having visited a museum. I remember coming home from the Royal Ontario Museum after an exhibit of Tutankhamun. Instead of writing in my usual report style I created a poem that mirrored what I had seen and felt experiencing the ancient artifacts.

Another time I had a sudden urge to just gush about the texture of art:

ArtsTexture
Each door a stepping stone
to other times and cultures;
Each opening a window
to other minds and hearts.
Each arch reveals
another treasure cave
discovered by adventurers.
Each portal stands
a sentinel of capsule time
a window into past
or into well imagined futures.

Each hall contains the beauty
and the wisdom of its age.
Each room allows a view
into the history of man.
Each gallery depicts
the hopes and dreams
of countless people.
Each separate space spells
rarely gathered thought
of many generations
past and present.

Each artist wrote a chapter
Of people in his area
Each artisan recorded time
with crafty skill
Each painter’s brushstrokes
stitched tapestries
tracking time and ages
in myriads of colours
weaving multitudes of stories
conjured from unspoken prayers
and barely whispered hopes.

Each visitor is but a spectator
Of time and places
a non-participant of happenings
beyond control of current trends
beholding beauty in its purest sense
created by aesthetics of another force
in universes too diverse to conquer.
Thus, art survives all politics and antics
regardless of religion and all mores
purposely preserving life and lives
as guardians of time.
– November 11 2003-11-11
– Sybille Forster-Rentmeister

I invite you to go with me on a magical journey and explore the sights of the McMichael Art Gallery and its over 7000 possible creations that reflect Canadian art, including the Group of Seven and so much more, and see why collaborating with other art venues can be so very enriching to all participants, and especially the visitor.

Click here to purchase tickets to the McMichael Valentines Night – Join us on this special night and your support will help contribute to the Opera York fundraising efforts for 2023

Tickets are $40 when you apply promo code OYXTEN

Main image: From Water to Water: A Way Through the Trees