Geoffrey wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 6:33 pm
its4inthemorning wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 3:05 pm
I lack
the historical knowledge to speculate, but I wonder whose visage might have been on
the last Jikan that bloomed before
the one Geoffrey drew.
just come home. thank you for writing!
people who lack sufficient knowledge to speculate are probably those who give
the world
the most original thoughts. if a person has nothing upon which to build an opinion, their thoughts and ideas can be like sunken galleons hiding treasure. you pose an interesting question with your wondering, one that i had not considered, and one that is hard to answer. i don't think one should allow a lack
of historical knowledge to suffocate speculation. instead perhaps it should be embraced, for who knows what might then transpire? something certainly can come from nothing, for otherwise we would not exist.
for
the record, there is often very little thought put into these sketches.
the modus operandi is to make a picture as quickly as possible with noisy energetic songs filling
the room. this makes it difficult to focus upon anything but
the music, and thus prevents a picture from becoming too perfect - definitely something to avoid!
-g
OK Geoffrey, casting my lack
of historical knowledge aside, I will speculate on whose face would be on
the last "Jikan" to bloom before Leonard's. Relying on Messrs. Google and Wikipedia (not always a wise thing to do, but I think reasonable in this case), I looked for people who made their marks about 500 years before Leonard did. I concentrated on individuals who achieved some prominence in
the arts--ideally poetry and/or music, and who seemed to be thoughtful, wise, and well-respected in their times. I came up with these three names: Annamacharya, Leon Battista Alberti, and Nezahualcoyotl.
Annamacharya (1408-1503) was born and lived in India. He was
the earliest known musician to compose songs called samkirtanas, which were poems/songs in praise
of Venkateswara, a form
of Vishnu. Evidently his approach to composing was more streamlined than was Leonard's, for it is said that he composed as many as 32,000 samkirtans. Perhaps
the record companies back then were less-demanding. His poems/songs were mostly either spiritual or romantic. In
the spiritual ones "he praises
the deity, describes his love for him, argues and quarrels with
the deity, confesses
the devotee's failures and apprehensions, and surrenders himself to Venkateswara." This sounds a bit Cohenesque, at least to me.
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was born in Genoa and lived his life in various Italian cities
of note including Florence and Rome. Based on
the Wikipedia description, Alberti was what we would today call well-rounded: "Alberti was an Italian Renaissance humanist, author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer." I mean, really, all
the other avocations weren't enough, he had to dabble in cryptography as well? Alberti is best-known for his architectural endeavors, and many
of his works survive today including: Acqua Vergine
the ancient aquaduct that feeds
the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome, which was restored by Alberti under a commission by Pope Nicholas V; and most
of the Santa Maria Novella in Florence just east
of the train station (an area with countless little restaurants, each one better than
the last).
Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472) was born and lived in
the city-state Texcoco on pre-Columbian Mexico. His father,
the monarch
of Texcoco, was killed when Nezahualcoyotl was 15 when
the city-state was conquered by
the Tepanecs. By
the time he was 29, Nezahualcoyotl (a) called for and created a coalition consisting
of Texcoco and other important city states; (b) led part
of the 100,000-man coalition army that vanquished
the Tepanics; and (c) was crowned ruler
of Texcoco. His poetry works were in
the mostly oral Nahuatl language and
the fact that they survived and were passed down in that manner until finally being transcribed by others 50-100 years later is a testament to their worth. In addition, "Nezahualcoyotl is credited with cultivating what came to be known as Texcoco's Golden Age, which brought
the rule
of law, scholarship, and artistry to
the city and set high standards that influenced surrounding cultures."
Any
of these three individuals, I think, has earned
the right to have appeared on
the "Jikan" that bloomed before Leonard's. Geoffrey, please feel free to draw a new "Jikan" depicting your choice.
Afterward: Despite
the profound accomplishments
of these three individuals and
the high esteem in which they were held where and when they lived their lives, until today I had never heard
of any
of them. (Perhaps others more learned than I are familiar with them, but I doubt it would be many.) This leads to
the sad conclusion that even
the most accomplished persons
of our lives and times will eventually be remembered by almost nobody. And if that is
the fate
of the flowers, it can be said with some certainty that all
of us weeds will rather quickly disappear without a trace.
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