Great ‘Walks’ of Art

Now don't think that we are getting beyond ourselves. It's not that we think that we are in the same league as the Great Artists of the Renaissance. Although, we do have great talent in areas other than painting, sculpture, architecture...

(to the point)... we are illustrating that great works (walks) take time, tolerance, flexibility, high pain thresholds and the ability to 'suck it up' (a technical term meaning: enduring the undesirable).

Enter Michelangelo with his many talents and competencies and obviously loads of the above qualities.

In 1501, at the tender age of 26 (a new age child of sorts), Michelangelo began working on (perhaps) his greatest Masterpiece after he inherited a great piece of marble, named David (with almost a pair of legs), from Agostino, whose job it was to fashion David out of the stone (until he promptly resigned). Out of a solid hunk of rigid material the Master made a man (again a hunk). A beautiful man, that the world still adores. It took him three years to complete, everyday chipping away at the stone prison until magnificence was revealed.

That is how the art festival will be: chipping away at thin air until a glorious festival celebrating talent and creativity be revealed. I guarantee it won't take nearly as long as it took the Italians to produce David (about 40 years from start to finish with a number of false starts and setbacks), but seriously, some of the 'elements' around the festival are more rigid than rock and determined to remain in the dark ages.
It is worth remembering that David won the battle against Goliath (where's his statue?).

Then, my personal favourite, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. Michelangelo, now only 33 years old in 1508, begins by erecting a scaffolding. He climbs on up and The Creation begins, as well as the Downfall of Man and The Promise of Salvation. The result of nearly four years of hard slog, aside from giving him a crick in the neck (which I can relate to in terms of the obstacles we've encountered so far) is indescribable (I know, I've just sat here trying to describe it's astonishing beauty). See? Time, flexibility (required to get to the top of the scaffolding and stay there for hours at a time), high pain threshold (to live through the pain in the neck).

Our brand of flexibility has been more specific to being able to adapt in the face of uncontrollable circumstances and asinine opposition. However, the pain in the neck hasn't changed much in 500 years.

Now a lesson in 'sucking it up': In 1546, Pope Paul III appoints Big M, aged 72 (old man, enlightened) architect of St Peter's Basilica. The foundation stone had been laid in 1506. Many people before Michelangelo had worked on it's plans and quite a few after him. It seems he was not terribly excited about commencing work on this commission (I am fairly certain that at the age of 72, I probably wouldn't be able to get up the energy for much more than walking the dog in the park). Michelangelo wrote "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle."
The Basilica was eventual complete on 18 November 1626, 62 years after Michelangelo death. (November is an auspicious month when it comes to great walks of art.

It seems that sucking it up can produce amazing splendor and in the case of Walk of Art it will too, long before we shuffle off.

- Amanda