(no subject)

[saint_monkey]

Subject: The Expression of Grief and the Power of Art
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:31:38 -0400
 
 Friday, September 14th, 2001
 
 Dear Friends and Colleagues,
 
 In the hours and the days following the tragedies in New York, Washington 
 and Pennsylvania, we (as artists) have been transported to a new world - an 
 unfamiliar territory that will take us a long time to learn and travail.
 
 I am writing to you with a heavy heart.  Having experienced the tremendous 
 damage of two earthquakes in California (and the loss of lives associated 
 with them), and now with these terrorist attacks, I can only say that it 
 will take a great deal of time, support from our family and friends, and 
 the comraderie of our communities to be able to one day be able to continue 
 with our lives.
 
 I have heard from many of you about how it will be impossible to continue 
 working as an artist in this new world.  About how meaningless and 
 insignificant our lives are.  About how our future endeavors ultimately 
 will mean nothing in the wake of this horror - thousands of lives lost - 
 the hundreds of thousands of families affected - and the whole world who 
 sense of security has been shattered.
 
 It would be an even greater tragedy, and a more devastating loss, to see 
 each you disappear from our world like those at the WTC and the Pentagon.  
 My livelihood, my inspiration and my worth as artist comes from the work 
 that you do and from the support you have given me.  Please do not hesitate 
 to reach out for help in this time of grief to anyone - including those of 
 your greater artistic family.
 
 Perhaps, as Aristotle surmised, that in our work we will be able to express 
 our grief and sorrows publicly, allow our audiences to share with us our 
 experiences, and hope that a catharsis will emerge within each of us, and 
 thus begin the process of healing.
 
 We will struggle to find the words and the means to define this event.  But 
 as the history of art and artists has shown, we have the ability to express 
 'the unnamable' - in same ways that those that came before us were able to 
 do.  
 
 For me, it began on Wednesday night, when I begin teaching an acting class 
 to a group of students, many of whom had never taken theatre-related course 
 in their lives.  In the hours before the class began, I was ill at ease and 
 uninspired.  I do not remember having a single idea as to how to begin - 
 nor the passion within me to do so.
 
 And yet, once I met these new students one-by-one, it all suddenly changed. 
   They were there to change their lives, to find a new mode of expression 
 and to redefine their self-worth as individuals.  I was there to support 
 them, to teach and to inspire them in ways I was inspired when I began my 
 first acting class.  And it turned out to be one the best teaching 
 experiences of my life.  I regained a sense of what my role is ....
 
 I have always felt that it is my responsibility as a citizen, and as an 
 artist, to illuminate our humanity and to share those stories with our 
 communities and, by extension to the world at large.  If anything, the 
 events of the past week have made me become even more resolute as citizen 
 and artist: to aid the process of healing, to council those in need, and 
 persevere in my life and work in the face of despair.
 
 I implore you, each and every one of you, to not give up or give in to the 
 terrors of the world.  Reach out, help in any way you can, and continue the 
 good work we have set out to do.  Yes, it has and will forever be, a 
 different world.  Our systems of beliefs (social, political, religious, 
 etc.) have been stripped from us.  But we still have our lives, our 
 responsibilities, and our families and friends who will need us more than 
 ever.
 
 We shall endure.  Keep the faith, and may God bless you each and every one 
 of you, your families and your friends.
 
 Peace and Love,
 
 Tlaloc Rivas
 Philadelphia, PA
 

"You must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on."

-The Unnameable, Samuel Beckett