Does art flourish particularly in times of collective crises, especially when the collective crises have psychological, non-empirical dimensions that are somehow more significant and pressing than the purely materialistic demands?
More unrelated than related to the above: I have been to Oslo and am shaken by the news of all the violence the city experienced on Friday. All of us need to be confronting the violence within each of us - constantly. (Ah, well, some of Munch's paintings may have lots to teach us.) As much as I despise the perpetrators of any violent acts, we have an imperative to trace and understand, very carefully, why and how the perpetrators chose violence. We do not need to sympathize with them, but we also do need to put ourselves into their shoes - because none of us are truly innocent.
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