Aeolus 

Editor: Okay, so here we have Peter Paul Rubens' painting, "Aeolus." It's a baroque oil painting, with lots of... birds. Honestly, it kind of feels like organized chaos. It’s hard to focus on one thing. What leaps out at you when you look at this piece? Curator: You're right, chaos but a purposeful, almost theatrical chaos. I’m struck by the raw energy emanating from Aeolus, the god of the winds, himself. Doesn’t he appear as if he is about to burst forth? But it is also about light and texture, about the possibility of form arising from disorder, and light coalescing with meaning to convey spiritual meaning. There is a dynamic tension – Rubens asks you "Where does your inner nature connect with universal law?" It's the bird life. The human animal is incomplete alone. Do you see this sense too? Editor: I guess I see the potential. I'm so busy looking at the details that I have a hard time seeing a big picture. All the different birds draw my eye every which way, which gets a bit frustrating after a while, especially since it seems I am missing any classical association here... Curator: Don't underestimate the value of detail, its tactile reality; after all, we construct our identities and understand our connection to Nature out of encounters with the world itself. To experience all those birds – owls, hawks, songbirds – isn't it something? Now, step back. What kind of story does Aeolus tell you? The birds are freed. The Earth will receive her new dawning! The god, perhaps humankind at its finest, unleashes creation and a world teeming with vitality. We have the god, who perhaps wants to say that humans who act divine, can unleash something profound in all beings... what is our relationship? That is the mystery! Editor: I never considered it in that light before! Focusing on the relationship shifts my understanding and opens things up quite a bit. I will ponder what I unleash in creation, which starts with me! Thank you. Curator: Likewise! I’m happy this work and discussion has led us down unexpected and reflective byways.