On my recent travel to Istanbul it happened to be in the company of a very interesting person. Mrs. Ayşe has lived alone for 12 years, lost her husband, a typographer and well educated piano player who was passionate about classical music and art. She has two children, a daughter divorced with two children and a son studying in London. She is struggling to survive and help her son study, only on the income of her deceased husband’s pension. Yet she is a happy and always smiling person, looking on life with optimism after 72 years. We sat on the table for some home-made traditional food and tea. After we finished eating and the body felt strong and refreshed, the need for communication and food for the mind came forth.
We had no common language and the basic communication was taken place via a translator. But at some point while talking about travels and experiences we talked about art, music and painting. Suddenly she stood up and walked towards the bookshelves behind me. She picked a few books laid them on the table and sat right next to me. I saw books about Fauvism, Impressionism, images of paintings, Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Right away the translator became redundant, a new language had emerged, the language of art. She told me all about herself and her husband, how they shared a common love for music and art. The communication through the images of famous paintings of the 19th and 20th centuries was flawless. Not only we could communicate but we could also understand more about each other’s personality. Feelings, memories and thoughts were flowing all over the place. On the flip of each page a story or a scene of the past was living again. Our loved ones who were not present or been passed away were there with us. The language, culture, religion, nationality and age differences were instantly diminished. There sat just two persons equal in front of a greater power, free from everything, expressing themselves, exchanging feelings, ideas and opinions.
After this unexpected incident I was pondering if there is anything else as powerful as art. It is hard to comprehend this power, as one might say it overcomes human nature, it’s almost divine or magical. As an artist you express yourself through your creations and you touch people’s feelings but more significantly you might join them!
Spyros Anastasiadis 