I’ve seen these images before, these well-preserved cave paintings from some 35,000 years ago, in Chauvet Pont d’Arc caves and grottos in France.
And, each time I see them, I am so touched.
These walls of cave art aren’t simply the collective scribbles of just a bunch of someones. These are creations are from the hearts of artists, people who needed-needed-needed to draw, paint and express.
I think it’s tempting to look back on The-People-Then and see simplicity of life, culture and mind. And that is likely true in many regards. Maybe even in most. But the human mind is the human mind. The human soul is the human soul. And the human need to follow one’s calling is a need, not a modern invention.
This need, this calling, this compulsion driving an artist to express what they see in the world — in their mind’s eye — is part of the human experience, not only traveling along with our species as we’ve evolved and developed over time, but it is, I truly believe, part and parcel of how we developed, as well.
What do you think?