One of the housemates sometimes likes to ask if something someone is praising changed their life. It's a bit of an overblown phrase - "changed your life" - but there's something to it. Last night I was thinking about this notion in regards to art. We often like talk about the power of art to transform people (cf.
Das Leben der Andere), but with regards to particular pieces, more often we speak in terms of objective value or historical significance, rather than personal subjective importance.
So I got to thinking:
What works of art have changed my life? Since that can be a rather intangible criteria, I came up with two more specific questions: What works of art have caused me to really sit up and take notice? Or what works do I find myself looking back to and referencing time and again?
Really, I think these are two sides of the same coin; both questions identify works that reveal something heretofore unknown in my experience. These are works that transcend their medium or genre: not, "This is a great painting," but "This is great."
So here are some preliminary lists. I may modify or explicate them in subsequent posts - they are, after all, highly provisional tabulations - but for now, simply laying them down is labor enough.
Things That Changed Aaron's Life
Visual Art:Bernini,
Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius--,
Apollo and Daphne--,
David--,
The Rape of Proserpina Abbott Handerson Thayer,
A VirginBooks:Homer,
The Iliaduncertain,
Song of SongsPlato,
RepublicShakespeare,
MacbethMilton,
Paradise LostJane Austen,
Pride and PrejudiceFriedrich Nietzsche,
On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for LifeT. S. Eliot,
The Four QuartetsC. S. Lewis,
A Preface to Paradise Lost--,
Mere Christianity--,
The Chronicles of Narnia--,
The Four Loves--,
A Grief ObservedMartin Heidegger,
Building Dwelling ThinkingJosef Pieper,
Leisure, the Basis of Culture--,
The Four Cardinal VirtuesJ. R. R. Tolkien,
Leaf by NiggleWalter M. Miller,
A Canticle for LeibowitzMichael Shaara,
The Killer AngelsLloyd Alexander,
The Prydain ChroniclesGeorge Weigel,
Witness to HopeStephen Pressfield,
Gates of FireJohn Eldredge,
Wild at Heart
Music:Palestrina, various
de Victoria, various
Fauré,
RequiemRich Mullins,
Songs--,
A Liturgy, A Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band--,
Never Picture PerfectAnonymous 4,
An English Ladymass--,
1000: A Mass for the End of TimeSufjan Stevens,
Seven SwansRosie Thomas,
These Friends of Mine
Films:
Chariots of FireThe MissionShadowlandsLa Vita è bellaAmelieIn AmericaOpera:Giacomo Pucini,
Gianni SchicchiBeverages:Earl Grey teaStrongbow ciderStone
Arrogant Bastard AlePS You might notice that there are far more books than paintings, for example. I guess it's a pretty basic proof that I've spent more time in libraries than in art galleries.
Labels: art, beer, cinema, literature, music, opera
