War
& Peace
The world changed
for most of us Americans on September 11, 2001. The images and
the horror of that day burned into our collective consciousness
while the grief, anguish, anger and sadness swept the nation
and the world. We will not forget.
I felt that this collective pain needed an artistic outlet,
that the pouring out of this anguish in paint, pencil, pen,
paper, canvas, plaster, bronze, photo, crayon, wood and wax
could somehow help us all. I did not wish to jury the art submitted,
and so the show was open to all. I felt it important for us
to come together for validation of our feelings without judgment,
but I was blown away by the quality and depth of the work submitted.
I hope that this show can help us to make sense out of the senseless
and to begin the process of healing ourselves and thus healing
the world.
For me this was a culmination of a personal year of pain, grief,
anger and anguish and an eventual return to love, forgiveness
and compassion. My father took his life in May of 2001 and the
result of this unspeakable act of violence of a loved one against
himself, has been for me, the greatest of challenges and the
hardest of lessons. It has touched all aspects of my life and
was also a strong factor in deciding to forgo my show for this
open event.
A few of the simple truths I have learned that I'd like to share
with you, I hope that they help you as they have helped me in
times of suffering:
1. Everything happens for a reason.
2. You cannot control what happens to you, only how you react
to it.
3. The greatest and most challenging lesson in life is love
and forgiveness even in the face of unspeakable injustice
and suffering.
4. Healing can only happen when we are brave enough to "feel
the feelings" rather than numb the pain.
5. We are all spiritual beings having a human experience.
I wish to thank Kathee Kiehn and Suzy Johnson for giving up
their gallery space for this event and helping to make this
show possible. Thank you to Project
Saffire for generously agreeing to perform for us at the
War & Peace opening reception. And a special thank you to
all the artists involved in this event for sharing their vision
with us.
Peace, love & light,
Harusami
November 16, 2001
