Henri Nouwen was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His words were more a continuing flow of unguarded and unconditional prose than a series of 
books, although that’s how they we experience his writing. By being simple, direct and honest with his readers he put aside the pretenses inherent in professional rank and social class in favor of seeing eye to eye with everyone he encountered, including the developmentally disabled community at Daybreak, where he worked and lived during the last decade of his life. Henri also found inspiration and connection through art, especially the art of Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt van Rijn. I’m happy to include Henri, Vincent and RvR as a treasured members of my ART circle.

Although I’m mindful of Groucho Marx’s admonition that he “Would not want to be a part of any club that would include him”, you might want to know what it takes to join my circle. It’s simple: you must possess the capacity to be ART for others…as in authentic, relational, and transformative. Mr. Nouwen was certainly all of that.
Want to join the circle? It’s free…just practice the neighborly meaning of ART.

Two "Moore" ART Neighbors

If you are going to be an ART neighbor, you’ve got to be ready to make some noise! Pablo Picasso may have been self centered and sometimes nasty, but creating Guernica made him a noisy, and great, ART neighbor. In one brazenly political image, Picasso stepped into the gap between cultures in conflict, using his talents to portray the horror of Hitler's air attack on a Spanish village. His painting offers each viewer a fictionalized yet authentic glimpse into the eyes of the villagers, revealing truth about mechanized warfare, our relationship to the suffering of others and a transformative moment after which we must say, “Enough” to war. Even after completing the work, Picasso continued to be noisy about the politics of war when he refused to allow Guernica to enter Spain until the fascist government was replaced. All this is even more remarkable when we remember that what we view as a masterpiece today was denounced by politicians from the left and right when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1937. In a challenging time, he was willing to take the heat to speak out through his work.

Michael Moore is making noise now, this time with his politically inspired film Fahrenheit 9/11. I’ve been amused by comments from some viewers who challenged his film because it isn’t “balanced” or is somehow unpatriotic. Of course it’s not balanced! Opinions don’t have to be balanced…but they ought to be honest and earnestly held…and Mr. Moore’s opinion is surely that. For those who believe documentaries should not express a point of view, I suggest a visit to the POV website. Independent, non-fiction film artists do have opinions, and express them freely in their work. If viewers are inspired to improve a situation, that's great!

As for Mr. Moore being unpatriotic, was Picasso being unpatriotic in 1937 when he took a stand against fascism? If patriotism is defined by the winners, I guess he was; when Picasso died in 1973, Franco and fascism still ruled Spain. And yet, when Picasso’s sobering masterpiece arrived in a free and democratic Spain in 1981, did its long delayed arrival transform Picasso from angry rebel to posthumous patriot?  Perhaps labels that change with change aren't proper labels after all.

I'm less concerned about debating the past and more concerned about the improving the present. I don't want to wait 40 years for truth to be freed from the bankruptcy of one sided patriotism and two dimensional intellect. If you don’t want to wait, make some Authentic Relational Transformative noise now. There are lots of options!