Inner Art Historian

I am in touch with my inner art historian. Ethiopia has been described as an ethnic museum. I am a mix of Oromo, Amhara, and Gurage. These tribes have been described by phenotype, genotype, and stereotype. I grew up in the United States, so I am very American. I am an ethical monotheist in a capitalist world. Speaking of ethics, I studied the categorical imperative by Immanuel Kant at the university level. Who would pass up that opportunity? The categorical imperative captured my fascination due to its elegance and simplicity. It is essentially the golden rule as advanced by Jesus. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In Kant’s perspective, actions are justifiable if a universal maxim could be applied based on the guiding principle for a moral decision.

Museums are filled with sacred art objects. We analyze items exhibited in a museum and derive understanding. Art history is taught at the university level, but often in lectures with accompanying slides that would put God to sleep. Yet, we have so much to gain from art history. What if we treated each other as delicately as sacred art objects? Art is life. Life is art. Human lives have intrinsic worth and should be preserved for as long as possible. The saying goes, Art is long, life is short (Ars longa vita brevis). Life should not be abbreviated due to war, especially protracted wars that don’t reflect the best interests of everyday people.

Now that I have graduated with a master’s degree in library science, I realize I have more respect for a collection of books than many people do for a congregation of people. We rely on politicians who want to seize power and not enough on people who want to preserve meaning and value.

Art history is the interdisciplinary field of study that may provide us with knowledge of how to apply the categorical comparative. I have sifted through texts focused on religion, psychology, and economics to determine the definition of the categorical comparative – to riff on Kant’s theory of an imperative. So, today I dive into the principles of art history to heal the rift among Ethiopian people.

A brief Google search teaches us that “the [seven] principles of art and design are balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity/variety” (https://www.thoughtco.com).

These principles invite us to investigate the intent of the artist and the outcome of the artwork. We are both artist and work-of-art. Notice words like “inherent superiority” are not listed among the design principles. To galvanize troops, military leaders use divisive language. War dehumanizes opponents and stages us at different ends of a spectrum.

What are wars if not symbolic victories? In reality, wars are bloody, violent, and vicious. May we train for war no more (Isaiah 2:4). Let our generation be the one that achieves peace. Conflict is ongoing, but war is a choice. What if we did not perceive each other as friend or enemy, self or other? What if we made art instead of war? Let us create a world we can all thrive in.

“O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may get to know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous among you. God is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware” (Qur’an 49:13).

Let’s fill our minds with art history before our beloved nation, Ethiopia, becomes history.

With love,

Yeru