This past week my son and I attended the Van Gogh immersive experience. The kaleidoscopic exhibit was a perfect blend of the old and the new, with the display of the artist’s iconic works along with 360 projections of his paintings.
Walking through the moving images where we were simply enveloped by the artist’s palette of color was truly a marvel yet what struck me was the one feature that made Van Gogh unique.
Apparently, the artist himself was color blind and his usage of bright colors could be attributed to the fact that he viewed the world in different shades of color than most of us do. As the voice in the documentary pointed out his limitation freed him.
Then this morning, while scrolling through my Insta feed, I came across a video by Sadhguru who spoke on the genius of Beethoven. The musician was deaf and yet composed such melodic symphonies. He didn’t hear the sounds the rest of the world did and maybe that is why he created such beauty.
And of course, this got me thinking. If Van Gogh and Beethoven had lived in our times, and their parents had to attend a PTO, how would it go? These days when parents of even three-year-olds are given detailed analyses of their cutting and pouring skills, both would have royally flunked! Imagine how dull music and art would have been without their contributions.
So parents, the next time you attend a PTO and your child hasn’t ticked off all the boxes on the teacher’s evaluation sheet- don’t fret. Remember, they might just be the stars our sad little world needs.
Vidya Writes 