Wandering through the northern Italian town of Tirano, I am struck by the very old, stonewalls. They circumscribe every property, miles of village roadways and impossibly steep hillside terraces. They are simply beautiful. Utilitarian but incredibly artful, their refined quality I can still see. This was how hillsides, roads and olive orchards were delineated and terraced centuries ago.
I imagine it took decades to complete many of these walls. But since they have existed for centuries, the investment of time and energy seems totally worth it. Whether the wall is in a forgotten corner of the city or lining a barely used road leading up the hill from the center of town, they are all made with the same degree of refinement. Stones are chosen and composed within these walls to complement one another. Large massive stones give way to patterns of smaller ones. Repetition of stone shapes and sizes are as varied and surprising as the pattern or passage of any painting I have ever done.
Walking up these steep village roads linking these tiny mountain Italian villages, the stonework accompanies me for miles. Although the maker of this wall is long forgotten I can feel his calloused but sensitive hands even now. It was only one of many moments in a single day of many but in that moment he, no doubt, held up a stone, felt its weight, considered its most smooth, most flattest side and then for time memorial, placed it just so into this wall.
These walls were not slapped together. You can tell. They are gorgeous displays of craftsmanship, care and design. I wonder if what I spend my time making, paintings composed of questionable brands of store bought oil paint, will last the test of time as well as these walls? How is what I make any different? Like those artisans that made these walls so long ago I too am just demonstrating my selectivity. I too am choosing my preferences in color, shape and line to make something.
Maybe that is just it. That is what all art is about. Whether it is a stonewall, a new recipe, an arrangement of cut flowers or even an abstract painting. It is an orientation to life. That the decisions, the choices we make, do matter especially when they result in something that stands outside of us. When we actually manifest something. It becomes part of the world. We leave it behind as a reminder of who we were and who we became.
Maybe the greatest benefit of our art is not for us. Maybe it is about what is felt and experienced by those who come across what we have made, maybe centuries later. When we too will probably be mostly forgotten. But then, in just a glance, in just a moment they too will get a sense of who we were and what, in the end, mattered to us.
9 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
You have touched upon a precious truth. We humans build, create and give birth to satisfy a calling. We leave a mark in time that is taken into account by those who come later. The utilitarian, the creative, the reflection of our endeavors are everywhere. And perhaps this is part of what we call the soul.
Wish I could write as well as you……thank you for putting into words the feelings I experience. I’m still in the middle of getting rid of all that I own….that is, moving to a small independent-living facility….auctioning off oodles and oodles of work, even trashing some. Picasso has given me what I needed…..to ‘almost’ quote him when asked the meaning of life: “Find your passion and then give it away!”
Is there anything you can’t do? Your words are paintings and evoke such rich pictures but even better touch my soul and support me in this journey of life itself. Thank you for being.💖
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and words Nick. I have also been thinking about walls, their function and their beauty. I have been working on a series of monoprints using an image of a stone wall / fortress I saw on Inishmore (Ireland) known as Dun Angus. This ancient fortress is one the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland. There is a lacework of ancient stone walls across the three Aran islands – Here are two of the monoprints from my series.
I’ve just moved from my quarter century home in northern Cali. to Salem Or. to live with my daughter. It’s been a sad letting go venture, saying goodbye to an art group of eleven years and your little piece on stone walls made me smile again this morning. Maybe, thanks to you, some art will flow through me again today. Thanks for the Cali. inspiration, Nicholas.
I like what you wrote very much! It is about our experience in life. And we might leave some of our art behind to be experienced by others.
@carolgalligan:disqus we are moving too. What an experience that is. Less is definitely more for me in moving forward. Best wishes for your move @carolgalligan.
Hi Nick,Just saw the wonderful Matisse/Diebenkorn show at SFMOMA, it Illustrates so many of the issues that you have spoken about.
Thank you for sharing your father’s website, much appreciated.
…..and thank you for the “Stonewalls and Art essay, it’s exactly the way I feel.
I am thrilled and excited to read my thoughts written in your wonderful writing. Something I wanted to say at uni but couldn’t quite get the words right, so frustrating, causing much controversy with students and teacher. You have fulfilled that frustration with your words. It’s so nice to find others that think like I do. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful thoughts in such a splendid way.