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Monday, January 30, 2012

Art Outside the National Gallery

I'm cheating.  I was supposed to write a reaction to a work at the National Gallery.  But as the family was walking to the gallery the other day, a woman was standing near the front of the entrance in a very large public space that isn't quite captured by this photo.  She was screaming very loudly, "our bodies are not for sale," and "my body is a temple."  I was struck by her determination to have her message heard, even as people tried their best not only to ignore her, but to go around her.  She continued bellowing for at least ten minutes, and eventually, three young ladies stopped to talk to her.  I'll never know her name, but to me she did so much of what art is supposed to accomplish.  She was unique, she stood alone, and she had a message.  I wish she could know, those young ladies weren't the only ones listening that day. 

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