My Name is Asher Lev

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The first time I took notice of Marc Chagall was in the book read in high school:  My Name Is Asher Lev (Amazon.com) by Chaim Potok.

Long before art called me by name, the story of Asher Lev resonated my essence, my creative spirit. Asher Lev, born into an orthodox jew, also born with incredible talent to draw and paint since he first held a pencil. Throughout this novel Chagall and Picasso were lifted up as demigods of Art. Asher a metaphor for both of their lives. It’s a book read over and over through the years when feeling rather inspirationless. I too had a passion for art. My dream to be a painter never left me, although my life took dramatic turns in other ways. Through the years I managed to keep my hands painting, drawing, and with pen. It’s only now I have the privilege and unique opportunity to make it Art happen.

Until that reading, Chagall remained then a mystery to me visually except through my own imagination and the words of Potok. Picasso, I knew. I saw his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art firsthand. Back in those days, absent was Google and search engines, so access was only from books at the library. I wondered what made these two artists remarkable, but didn't understand until now. To me Chagall remained in touch with love, happiness and hope, while Picasso painted crude reality, torment and despair. These two formidable men, broke the mold of restrictive laws set out for painters to paint exactly what they see. Both artists are historic giants, with totally unique world views.

For now I focus on Chagall who regained my attention, not by a novel, but through the purity of studying prints of his art, and reading about his life. I also viewed the movie “Artists of the 20th Century: Marc Chagall” though the movie lacked many works and was weak by showing partial paintings. What it did capture was his history and influence of Hasidic upbringing. Chagall’s love of life, beauty and painting the subjects that meant so much to him stands out in the vibrant, bold and exclusive use of colors.

It is a necessity to understand masters and their lives as well to know their influence reaching out to us today. The use of the internet makes it’s easy to study art history, opening ancient doorways and paths to where we are now in society. Nothing takes the place of seeing masterpieces in the museum, where one drinks in the power of painted art and experiences live the real creation.

Marc Chagall, 1887-1985: Painting as Poetry (Basic Art)