Thursday, June 30, 2005

What Only Art Can Do

It's sad that it takes something so horrendous to demonstrate why the arts are important in our lives, but it should stand as a cautionary tale to those who pooh-pooh the arts as unnecessary. The BBC is reporting that the factory owned by Oskar Schindler is going to be turned into an art museum.
Krakow deputy mayor Tadeusz Trzmiel said: "The establishment of a museum in this historic factory is part of the rehabilitation of the industrial area of Zablocie."

Much like the controversies surrounding art spaces planned for Ground Zero, I imagine Krakow's civic leaders will find the transformation a complicated one, but there's nothing better suited to rehabilitate a landmark than a venue for the arts. Seriously, consider how folks would feel if Schindler's factory were turned into a mall or bulldozed over to make way for a new banking district. Whenever anyone argues that the arts do not represent the very best of what humans are capable of, think of this and remember it's something only art can do.

3 Comments:

Blogger Paul said...

I enjoyed reading your blog today. Some interesting stuff and soem interesting links too. Very interesting perspective in the heart of the art world as opposed to the view from rural Suffolk UK.
Cheers

7/01/2005 02:32:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i'm all for art museums; i'm an artist for creep sakes, but shouldn't his factory become something more appropriate, like a museum for the history it has associated with it?

- carol es

7/01/2005 04:26:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is a big step if one is Polish, I imagine. It can be good.

- Tomasz Walenta (Illustrator)
www.tomaszwalenta.com

8/08/2005 10:56:00 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home