our world today needs art and inspiration

We watched the movie "The Monuments Men" last night.  It is inspiring to know that there were a group of men who would give their lives to preserve and protect some of the greatest works of art we know.  For those of you who travel through the nations and stop to see all the famous art displayed around the world, know that you have these men to thank.  
Great works in architecture, paintings and sculpture inspire us and cause us to stand in amazement, breathless at the creations.  They give us the opportunity to gaze at beauty, imagination and dedication in a world that holds none of these things as profitable or worthy.  Yet without these monuments to our age and culture we are nothing.
We do not realize how landmark buildings that have stood for centuries create the community we live in.  We tend to forget that the Rembrandts, Michelangelo's, Picasso's and Monet's are etched in our minds, on our postcards and heralded as the greatest of our time.  We take for granted the importance of creativity and art until we find ourselves in a sterile place devoid of inspiration, color, shading and light.  In those places we find that our hearts and our very souls languish.   
It amazes me that out of those very sterile places art emerges.  Out of prisons, out of migrant camps, out of hospitals come creations that cause us to pause, breathless.  Those artists paint with passion that comes from a soul held captive.  They paint from a soul starving for color, light, shading and freedom.  Their imaginations recreate for them a life they no longer have, a passion they can no longer realize and a peace they cannot grasp.  
These artists remind us of the beauty, the suffering, the inspiring and the spiritual aspects of humanity.  Without them we have cement, asphalt, steel and wires.  A world we cannot survive in without the death of our soul.  
Please consider adorning your home with original art.  Support those whose passion is to create.  We need them.
The work feature with this post is from JMatheny Originals.  JMatheny honed his skill and learned to release his creativity inside of prison walls and behind razor wire. 

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