Sister Wendy: The Heart of the Value of Art

"We know great art by its effect on us. If we are prepared to look without preconceptions, without defenses, without haste, then art will change us." - Sister Wendy Beckett


Before you skim over this blog entry give me a moment to explain; this video interview of Sister Wendy goes way beyond the expected to the heart of the value of art. I know some of you may not have a spiritual based world view, and may find the first two parts hard to take, if so skip to Part 3. I recommend watching the whole series posted on You Tube; 1 through 6. It gets better and better as Bill Moyers carefully listens to Sister Wendy and gives her room to unfold her truest thoughts about art. It's a sacred experience.

When I show it to students I ask them to start paying close attention at Part 3 and usually stop at Part 4 - attention spans are short late at night and in those hard seats, But Part 5 and 6 are great too. I hear the actual three hour interview was cut to one hour, the way it ends seems a little trivial but Wendy's insights into how to approach art and its importance to ALL of us has changed lives- I've seen it first hand in the eyes of my students. Take some time and watch all 6 You Tube postings. If you want to share it with your own students, buy the video on Amazon.

Although Sister Wendy would probably not agree, I believe art saves souls. Sister Wendy comes as close as anyone of our time to showing us all The Way.

Click here to watch Sister Wendy in Conversation Part 1. The other parts (1-6) will show in the box to the right on the You Tube page.