Carry On.

Freshman year at Sac State.

Me: an interior design major. Class: Art History 1A.

Also me: struggling to stay awake.

And then, this:

La Primavera, Boticelli, ca. 1495

I can honestly say that as I struggled to stay awake in classes darkly lit and stuffy, in that first art history class I ever took, that La Primavera was the first piece of art to grab my attention amongst what seemed an endless parade of European monotony (yes, I realize this to be a bit of uneducated and harsh in thinking in regards to art history but at the time that is all it was to me).

What it was that caught my attention I can only guess at now, I really don’t remember. I think part of the appeal is the fact that the scene has such a distinct femininity and interaction. But not just any form of femininity. Besides the literal meaning and symbols/ association with seasons and change, and in quite a few interpretations – music, it is a freedom attained with carelessness that I think I longed for at the time. It was not a careless abandon, but a willingness to accept the change to come, as it was destined and natural. I think I wanted to revel in being me, just as the three practically nude attendants to Venus traipsed within the flora. I wanted to revel in being female. I wanted any form of freedom that could make me appreciate it and smile. It was the first thing I can remember besides The Beatles and Elvis Presley that I could feel in my SOUL. It didn’t’ matter if it didn’t really mean what I thought to anyone else or at all in its original execution. It was wholly mine in a way that only I understood.

I bring up this piece not because I want to analyze it historically, but because I believe it helped to fuel my interest in art and start paying attention in class (3 years later I would change my major & obtain my BA in Art History – although not European). Second of all, I came across this painting again recently in reading and was reminded how it made me feel. So I thought I would share it with you. Perhaps I do this now because it resonates with me so much again these days. It seems that it means a lot to me in times that I feel lost, although it provides no answers, only the encouragement to carry on. It’s all DESTINED. It’s all NATURAL. CARRY ON.