As we are all in the throes of the first pandemic of most of our lifetimes, what I am most moved by is the response from the good people of the world: those who have paid attention to the scientific experts and are doing their utmost to keep us safe and sane in a time of quarantine and isolation. Not just the heroic people in the medical field, fighting the disease firsthand, but those on the front lines of society’s essential machinery: those who risk their lives to make sure food and supplies are delivered. And, even more astonishing, my fellow artists who are sharing work in new (and often free) ways to fill our lives with much-needed diversions and delights, with messages of hope, with laughter, with music, with song.
Thanks to the internet, art is flooding our world in manifold ways. Opera houses are sharing recordings of their works, writers are releasing free copies of their books, museums are offering free virtual tours, performers are doing free virtual concerts—many of these linked to fundraisers to help various groups affected by layoffs, closures, and so on. There are so many people finding ways to help each other connect and find a little solace in this dark time. Clearly, the virus cannot touch our creativity, our resilience, our ability to touch one another—even in times of isolation.
Perhaps that is the purpose and power of art: to remind us how interconnected and interdependent we truly are.
Stay strong. Stay safe.
My two films are free on Amazon Prime:
GARDEN PARTY MASSACRE (Horror/Comedy)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLQRNFV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLQRNFV
