LETTER

Removal of historical statues

 

It did not take too long to switch from the practice of wiping out and reworking (rewriting) annals from our human history, and are we now rewriting or merely stating the truths of our history?

Whether it is a mob with emotional motivation or the political evolution of our society, the origin is the same which led us to put up monuments in the first place. In the end, it would just take a small investment to add a plaque with our new understanding of historical events; this would eradicate any glorification of our questionable past, corrected into our new, evolved understanding (e.g., the Cornwallis statue in Halifax).

Just as I experimented in painting in my past -- different light sources would unveil a different design and motive, and with that "Multiple Painting" was created. This was not documented; my portfolio did not designate me as a teacher; I was an independent experimental sculptor. There is a lot still hidden in the puzzle of the Betakova-Hlavina Art collection.  What will history ultimately say of these experiments and creations? There is a lot to understand, yet, in all our history.

Let us not use our emotions to react to historical events, but explain them in the light of our new sources and understanding.

Rasto Hlavina
Pontiac