If you want to see loads of Italian Renaissance Art, Venice is one of the places to go. The place is overflowing with it, or almost sinking under the weight of it, to vary the overstated metaphor.Never mind the art galleries: every church has its Bellini, Titian or Tintoretto (usually several, in fact.) After a while it can get a bit much.
For some relief from all of this overwhelmingly religious imagery, you can call in at the late Peggy Guggenheim's house (just don't make the mistake of ordering anything in the tearoom/cafe there - it will cost you the price of a small painting, if and when it finally arrives, and it won't be worth eating anyway!! -You can see we had a bad experience there.)
It is, of course, a museum displaying some of Peggy Guggenheim's amazing collection of modern art - very different in style and subject matter from all of the Renaissance stuff...
OR...
you can find 'art' in the streets.
I'm not sure whether this object pictured above could really be considered as a work of art or simply as a political 'flyer.' It is certainly preaching an environmentalist message and it is a stark reminder to all the tourists and visitors like myself who arrive in Venice by air, that we may be leaving some rather large (size 12+) carbon footprints for the sake of a short break.
Well, it made me think.
But, will it make me change my behaviour?
Does any preaching do that?
One thing is certain: the crate above is not going to get off the ground any time soon. It is going nowhere. And that's the problem with the environmental issue too. We need to find new ways of fuelling transport because the long term answer cannot be for us all to stay in our own little corners.
3 comments:
Getting people to 'think' is the first step in getting them to change their behaviour. Having said that and on the environmental issue I think you are right in assuming that it won't stop people from jetting off with their budget airline for a short break. I do think however that while the engineers and scientists develop a friendlier fuel we should all do our bit by recycling, cutting down on waste and packaging and becoming more aware of environmentally friendly alternatives to some of our everyday practises.
I'll get off the soap box now shall I......
No - you look fine on your soap box! :-) In fact, you are absolutely right and I try to do my bit by not using the car for silly little journeys, recycling whatever I can and refusing carrier bags in shops etc.(not too hard since I avoid shops as much as possible anyway.)
Actually, I think maybe I should consider recycling some sermons too...
I'm already recycling some of your sermons! I got a copy of your series of sermons on 'the Apostles' Creed' a long time ago and I still have them. (Hope you haven't been looking for them?) In fact I dug them out only last week and read them over again. You never know, one of these days I might actually get my head round this Christianity business! What can I say....I'm a slow learner.
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