Humanism and art

I commission artists to make works of art and we then displayed them in the public arena so that the public can enjoy them completely free of charge so everybody gets a benefit and everybody enjoys it.

We are largely not reasonable and logical. We’re emotional, we’re passionate, we have our five senses, our feelings, and they need something deep to respond to. And, wordlessly, we communicate with nature. Most of our - or a large part of our - communication as human beings is nonverbal and intuitive, and art is a way of expressing that - that leaves language completely out of the picture - and makes a wordless revelation of the truth available to everybody.

I think that’s very central to the experience of creating art. Understanding human beings is one of the great rewards that art gives to us. At a rather basic level

you can understand art from a technical point of view: the composition; the use of colour; the kind of tools that have been used; the colours; and the skills of draftsmanship. But at a much deeper level you will have the truth that the artist is trying to tell. He will have given his painting or sculpture a narrative and that means the - what the subject of the painting is actually doing. And the whole thing results in a shared emotion. There’s a human being creating the work, there’s a human being often depicted in the work, and there’s a human being observing the work, and all of them will access the same emotions and the same reactions.

Of course art helps us to make sense of our own lives because it’s one of the authorities we can turn to when we’re in distress or when we’re puzzled. There will be other human beings who have experienced a similar situation, and they may have depicted it in a work of art from which we can learn something.

My work is a joy, day and night, and I think art - the creation of art, and the display of art, and thinking about art - is one of the highest things that you can do, and it’s a very great privilege to be in the position of working with artists. It’s very, very exciting interacting with the artists, bringing ideas to fruition, seeing things come to completion, and it’s very enjoyable indeed when visitors come and see what has been done and appreciate it, and you can, you can see that you’re improving the environment - the actual physical environment - where the artwork is being placed, and the lives of the people observing the art works. You can see them smile.

Very often they might not have the language to describe what they’re feeling, and they’ll say something like ‘ooh, brightens up the place a bit’ but you know it’s made them feel good, and to spend your life having this marvellous effect of making other people feel good is really a wonderful privilege.