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  Leonard Peltier, #89637-132, USP, Coleman I,

  P.O. Box 1033, Coleman, FL 33521, USA.

  THURS 4 NOV AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY

  We made a five-minute film, at the National Gallery, for a pilot TV programme we wanted to do on great art. This is my script:

  I believe that the art lover is a freedom fighter for a better life for himself and the world. Great art is a series of windows on the past, it gives us an understanding of where we are and who we are. We question our priorities and the world we live in and through this we’re always discovering something new, something we didn’t know before. We can change society and my next story is an example of how this happened in the past. Around seven hundred years ago there was a seismic shift in people’s outlook right across Europe. We can see this change through looking at paintings, so I went to the National Gallery in London. You can just pop into the National Gallery or spend all day, if you have the time, looking at the greatest paintings in the world – it’s free.

  Left column, from top: Duccio, Masaccio, Giovanni Bellini, Peter Paul Rubens; right column, from top: Hieronymus Bosch, Jan van Eyck, Rembrandt van Rijn.

  We’re going to look at three Italian paintings with the same subject matter – a mother’s love for her child – Mary holding the baby Jesus as they contemplate his future death on the cross. The first is from medieval times and it’s by Duccio from around 1300. It’s outside of time and space. And it has the authentic stamp of the Church because the truth is witnessed by saints, prophets and angels. Their size is not realistic; rather it’s in proportion to their importance in the spiritual hierarchy. It’s a direct appeal to Faith – no doubt, no questions; a background of shining gold – no contact with the outside world. The message is spiritual: we are nothing. Yet we can become one with God. The earth was flat, heaven was above and hell below.

  Masaccio, our next painter, comes a century later. This is the time of the Renaissance. Renaissance means rebirth, when people rediscovered the art and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome. Masaccio’s work was more naturalistic and was inspired by ancient Greek sculpture. The rules of perspective had just been rediscovered. He uses this and rational lighting to place the stone throne and figures in real space. The child tastes the grapes which are a symbol of the blood he is prepared to shed for us.

  It’s now 1500 and the high Renaissance. Our next painting is The Madonna of the Meadow by Bellini. It’s the same familiar subject but now the world has been let in. Mary sits in a field. The baby is allowed to sleep like a real child. We can feel Mary breathing as she watches over him. Christ Mocked (The Crowning of Thorns) by the Flemish painter Hieronymus Bosch is from exactly the same time as Bellini. It is still a religious subject but it’s crowded with horrible characters – it is set in the drama of life and shows what humans are really like when they’re about to torture Christ.

  Worldly subject matter entered painting through portraits. The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) – a double portrait of Arnolfini and his wife by Jan van Eyck – documents the rise of a rich middle class who took advantage of the new techniques in oil painting to record themselves in their finery and among their expensive possessions. The world is becoming more materialistic.

  Wealthy merchants, bankers and princes decorated their palaces with scenes from ancient Greek and Roman mythology, like the painting of the Judgement of Paris (1632–35) by Rubens. They were showing off their new, modern and worldly outlook, which included the pleasures of the flesh. Many important events coincided to cause this radical change in outlook of Renaissance thinkers and artists. But the most important factor was the rediscovery of the Greek mind where freedom of thought triumphed over medieval dogma.

  In Rembrandt’s Self Portrait at Age Sixty-Three (1669) we enter right into the private life of the painter. God has been replaced by man as a source of ideals. Freedom from the Church’s authority led to experimentation and science, and the cult of the individual.

  Change happened in the past and we need to change our outlook again – radically – to get the world we want.

  SAT 20 NOV REWRITING THE MANIFESTO

  I am re-writing my Manifesto. Now that I’ve lived with it, I feel I can penetrate more deeply into the ideas – what I want to say – and strengthen the links with climate change. It’s taking me ages – at least 600–700 hours so far – because I’m actually working out the theory as I go along. When I have three clear days I think I can finish it – but I’m not sure when that will be because I’m so busy at the moment. I’ve decided to post it online as far as it’s done. I’m still working through it and will add more as it’s completed.

  My Manifesto is about feelings – these feelings are our primary and direct contact with reality. They are primitive, earlier than language. What art struggles to do is to communicate these feelings directly. It is through art we touch reality.

  My aim in life is to understand the world I live in. I think that to become an art lover is to become a freedom fighter for a better world. Being an art lover is an activity – you’re active, not passive. You’re investing everything you’ve got when you really look at a painting. The motto of this Manifesto is ‘You get out what you put in’. It’s the opposite of being a consumer. You’re not just passively sucking things up. This applies to all the arts but, for the moment, we’re just thinking of what can one person do. Right now you can start going to art galleries if you live in or visit a city.

  When I was teaching in Berlin, I sent the students to the galleries and said to them, ‘Before you move from one room to the next, think which painting you would save. And, if you keep going, in six months time you won’t choose that painting – you would choose something else because you’re developing your powers of judgement and discrimination. Being an art lover is the best education you can get.’

  In my studio I send the students who come for work experience to the Wallace Collection – it’s great because it also has furniture and other applied arts, especially Sèvres porcelain. Remember when you go to an art gallery that, as far as I know, there’s nobody in the world who can do anything like that now – not even paint one little flower on a teacup. How fulfiling it is once you realise how relevant art is to your life. It helps you understand the world. Why don’t you dress up and go with a friend? You get out what you put in – Get a Life!

  DECEMBER 2010

  SUN 12 DEC ONCE UPON A TIME …

  The Adventures of Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland should be at the top of any reading list. They are key characters – as ‘The Travellers’ – in my Manifesto. It would seem that Pinocchio is the most popular book that has ever been written – it’s been translated into more languages than the Bible. I think it’s so brilliant!

  Once upon a time there was … A king!’ my little readers will say straight away. No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.

  It’s just great. And remember that the person who wrote it, Carlo Collodi, was a theatre critic. Pinocchio is so dramatic as a story that for anyone wishing to be a writer it’s an absolute model of literature.

  Now then, the circumstances under which this was written: Carlo Collodi was the eldest of ten children, only five of whom lived past infancy. His mother did washing for the local duke. The duke noticed this boy and how clever he was and he educated him.

  Collodi became a member of the Risorgimento, the movement in Italy that was trying to unify all the little petty kingdoms and principalities and to have a national identity and a country. This all happened in the mid-nineteenth century (1815–71). The challenge was that most of the people at the time were peasants – they couldn’t read and write. The Risorgimento was going to create a republic: putting the people in power – that was their idea. In fact, they put the king in power; but the people needed educating. They launched a children’s newspaper to educate children and Pinocchio was serialised in 1881 as the first story for kids. It was so popular th
at it became a book in 1883.

  The Adventures of Pinocchio is a guide for living. It’s a philosophy for life – a way to live. It’s a terribly exciting book. Pinocchio is the most wonderful character you’ll ever meet. He’s so naughty but he’s got a heart of gold and that’s what saves him.

  Pinocchio is very useful as one of the travellers in the Manifesto because we’ve got him after the book’s action – what once was a wooden puppet has now become a real boy. He’s now more clever than he used to be – he’s learning and, of course, he wants to learn. He’s decided he wants to be a freedom fighter, like his creator, Carlo Collodi. Next time, I’ll talk about our other traveller, Alice.

  MON 20 DEC CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER!

  I have now finished revising my Manifesto. One of the reasons I decided to re-write it is that in my first attempts I felt I was climbing on a soapbox and telling everyone what to do. And I don’t like sounding bossy even though I’ve got strong opinions. I thought it would be ever so much more acceptable to people if a little girl could do this – someone about the age of Alice. She was a precocious child and I think she is a much more charming way to present my opinions.

  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was written in 1865 by the English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – better known as Lewis Carroll. It was originally written as a gift for Alice, the daughter of fellow deacon Henry Liddell. How old is Alice Liddell in this picture, dressed as a beautiful beggar child? I think she’s about nine or ten. As Carroll was a photographer – and there weren’t many around in those days – mothers were pleased to have him take photos of their little girls. They obviously thought of photography as art. When people discuss Lewis Carroll today, they sometimes have a problem with his interest in young girls but that certainly wasn’t the case in his time.

  I would like to say that, even as a woman, I think little children of Alice’s age, especially girls, have something special about them – they’re so open to ideas and so curious about things. They’re the most delightful people to talk to and get involved with. It’s happened to me more than once but I do find, like Carroll did, that when children reach a certain age – eleven, twelve, definitely thirteen – they start to get a bit boring. They’re really just interested in their friends, not in the world around them. They want to look grown-up and get involved in all the things that make teenagers feel that they’ve got an advantage over everyone else. They’re not looking at the world or trying to be unconventional or willing to stick their necks out in any way. The hope is that they’ll come out of this way of thinking when they’re older.

  Why do I like this story? Remember, Carroll was a mathematician. And, fifty years before Einstein, he was very much aware of the idea of relativity because Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are seen from this point of view. Everything is relative to everything else. A wonderful example is when Alice is playing croquet and hits the ball, which happens to be a hedgehog, with a mallet, which happens to be a flamingo. I remember reading once, when I was trying to understand relativity, Bertrand Russell’s explanation that it was just as useful to measure something with a metre rule as it was with a live snake. That’s exactly how Lewis Carroll saw the world – everything is relative. Another example is in Through the Looking Glass, when the Red Queen is running full speed with Alice holding her hand. They are going so fast that Alice’s hair is pulled almost off her head. And then you find that they haven’t moved at all and in this world you have to run fast just to stay on one spot. Of course, this is what’s happening to us in our world today.

  Alice Liddell, photographed by Charles Dodgson and transformed by Tenniel.

  Perhaps my favourite idea is revealed at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. It shows that ‘Time’ is a man-made invention. ‘Time’ and the Mad Hatter have quarrelled and now that ‘Time’ won’t cooperate anymore, the time stays at six o’clock – and that is why they have to stay at the tea table.

  The importance of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is that things are never what they seem. They can have their own strange logic which has nothing to do with any kind of conventional logic but yes, yes it is just as real. I think this is a very good attitude or lesson for a child to have – so they’re not always so complacent about getting near the truth by applying conventional logic to things. Of course it’s also terribly, terribly amusing – the logic of Wonderland compared to our conventional logic. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party is the gem of the story. I love the bit when the Dormouse tells the story of three little sisters who lived in treacle well. Alice wants to know what they ate and the Dormouse answers, ‘Treacle’. Alice says they couldn’t live on treacle because they’d be terribly ill. And the Dormouse replies, ‘Oh they were – very ill’. Hilarious!

  The Alice books make you believe you could be in a parallel world – or that the world we think we know reflects the way we are programmed to see it. Maybe it’s not like that at all!

  2011

  JANUARY 2011

  SUN 16 JAN LIBERTY

  Shami Chakrabarti, the Director of Liberty, is a great friend of mine. I’ve been a supporter of her work for a long time and I stopped by to visit her recently. Anyone who listened to the discussion last week on BBC Radio 4 Any Questions? will have heard my thoughts about the controversial scheme of control orders which gives the UK government the right to hold anyone suspected of terrorist activities under indefinite house arrest. At present, control orders allow suspects to be indefinitely tagged, confined to their homes and prohibited from communicating with others – all without a police interview, trial or charges made against them. It’s up to all of us to put pressure on the government to scrap this system and replace house arrest with surveillance to gather evidence for prosecution. We don’t all get to take part in radio discussions but you can still have an effect by contacting Liberty (www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk) to make your voice heard.

  TUES 18 JAN A PERFECT BALLET

  Fernando Montano, a young First Artist with the Royal Ballet, surprised us with tickets to the Royal Opera House to see their performance of Giselle. Of all Romantic ballets Giselle is the one to see and know. It’s a real drama – a story of betrayal, nights filled with supernatural spirits and love that transcends even death. Giselle is not merely an excuse for dancing, but lives because of the drama it expresses. It’s not just a regular favourite of ballet lovers but also a wonderful work through which anyone can discover the enduring appeal of classical ballet. The brilliant British dance critic Arnold Haskell wrote of Giselle: ‘The scene of madness cannot be naturalistic or it would be altogether out of the picture. It must be lyricial and fit perfectly within the classical convention. The latitude allowed the actress is minute, every gesture is circumscribed. To succeed in Giselle means a triumph of personality, a unique example of true personality that is technically disciplined.’

  Woodcut of Giselle from Arnold Haskell’s Pelican Guide to Ballet.

  FEBRUARY 2011

  FRI 11 FEB ONE MAN’S ADVANTAGE IS ANOTHER’S SUFFERING

  The financial crisis is an exact match of the ecological crisis. More than 90 per cent of the world’s natural resources are owned by private interests, business and government – and they are exploited to the hilt. There is nothing left to exploit cheaply! That is why we have a financial crisis.

  The pundits keep these complementary facts apart and suggest money spent on climate change would make us suffer, whereas the only people who would suffer are shareholders. When they talk about growth they are lying. It is very clear today that one man’s advantage is another’s suffering. Or as John Maynard Keynes put it: ‘Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.’

  At the end of the Second World War, the Allies got together to consider implementing the economic system which Keynes had worked out. Everyone was excited because they thought his system would be an end to war. Keynes�
�s idea was to have a world bank which would balance the world economy and create the same opportunities for all. The nations with a surplus would be obliged to balance their accounts within a year – or have the surplus confiscated. The surplus (and help) would be given to countries who had a trade deficit. (The present World Bank creates more harm than good.)

  America rejected this plan. All the other countries were in debt to her, so they had to obey. America stated: The world is finite with diminishing resources. The American standard of living is sacred and the level of wealth must be maintained. Therefore, from now on, America must have a greater share of the cake. (These are not the exact words but this is what America said at the time. I am shocked that they dared to be so blatant.)

  The consequences of this decision for the poorest countries have been ruinous to their development. Today, we can see the global impact this has had financially – matched by the catastrophic environmental consequences for us all.

  To read more, see the article on Keynes by George Monbiot (‘Clearing up this mess’, available in his online archive). The details are fascinating!

  MARCH 2011

  TUES 15 MARCH CREATING WORLD WIDE WOMAN

  I was so carried away by my last Gold Label show that I have decided to describe in some detail how a collection is formed.

  Sometimes I know the idea for a collection but this time I started really late with no idea except for a fragment of precious ribbon I had seen pictured in an old sales catalogue I discovered among my books. I wanted to get a copy woven, a ribbon I could cut up into same-size pieces and sew on to T-shirts instead of graphics. I thought I’d love to wear a bit of old fabric instead of a slogan for a change. The original was medieval and the design had such a feeling of that time, formalised eagles in silk and gold threads circumscribed within an undulating chain motif.