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Picasso and Confucius
Pictures of SARS - Children's drawings


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A composition in the style of Picasso! A very mature piece of art. There are three main elements: a dove, a female face, and a large Chinese character. The female face is highly symbolic, almost abstract. She has her large eyes, a nose curve and red lips. The rest of the face is only represented by a single line. The eyes give the impression that she is looking straight at us, conveying a message with her look.

The dove is the white and carries a green olive branch. We all know the story how Noah sent out a dove from his bark and she returned with an olive branch, signifying that the flood (i.e. the wrath of God) was over and there was land nearby. We also know that since Picasso this white dove carrying an olive twig has become the symbol of peace. In this picture the dove is drawn in yellow outline to stand out from the background. Together with the female face the dove is very reminiscent of a Picasso composition.

But below there is also a large Chinese character for the Chinese word De. This word is commonly translated into English as "virtue" but means much more than that in the Chinese tradition. It is the quality which lends a ruler the authority to govern the subcelestial world. If one has De, he can rule the world, if he has not, he will not be able to hold power even if he is born into it. Perhaps the closest match to it is the Polynesian concept of "mana" which resides in a king, a sacred person or object. De has been one of the most important concepts in early Chinese philosophy and nearly every philosopher gave his own explanation, including Lao-tzu and Confucius. In this design the calligraphy of the Chinese character is in the so-called clerical script. Moreover, the calligraphy is such that it is beautifully copied from an early stone inscription, showing that the connection with the ancient Chinese tradition is intentional.

The message of the image is clear. We want peace, we want beauty, we want sunshine. And the only way we are going to get there is to have De, that is, virtue, power, integrity, confidence. This picture is once again a composition which entirely consists of positive elements. There is not a single negative component, SARS is not even mentioned or alluded to.

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SARS pictures



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