Thursday, November 1, 2012

Jacques Barzun Is Dead

Jacques Barzun is dead at the age of 104.
Barzun was a renaissance man. People like this absolutely amaze me. He was considered one of the 20th centuries most wide ranging scholars, one of a few who "tried to reconcile the achievements of European culture and philosophy with the demands and tastes of American intellectual and cultural life."
Have you tried to do that lately? I know I haven't. I didn't even know Jacques Barzun was alive until he died.
A Renaissance man is defined as someone who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in the areas of both the arts and the sciences.
At the age of 92 Barzun wrote a book titled "From Dawn to Decadence", an 877 page survey of 500 years of Western civilization in which he argued that Western civilization itself had entered a period of decline. Hard to argue with that.
I now have that book on my Amazon wish list. Talk about ambitious.
This guy was a goddamn genius but he was known as a "popularizer", believing that the achievements of the arts and scholarship should not be seperate from American culture, that writing for a general audience was "a responsibility of scholars."
In other words he wasn't a snob. He believed that everyone could benefit from knowledge - artistic and scientific - especially if expressed in a way that was not condescending.
His friend, Professor Henry Graff said "He saw the great value in reaching a larger public than just his friends. He read everything - I don't know anybody who had such a Renaissance mind - a mind that I don't think I will ever encounter anywhere again."
Barzun mocked intellectuals. "The intellectuals chief cause of anguish are one another's works." I love that.
Consider the honors bestowed upon this man. He was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, which is France's highest award and was established by Napoleon Bonaparte.
He was awarded the Medal of Freedom which is the United States' highest civilian honor.
In Cooperstown, in the baseball Hall of Fame, is a Barzun quote: "Whoever wants to understand the heart and mind of America had better understand baseball." You dig where I am coming from? How many intellectuals that you know have an interest in baseball? Renaissance man, baby.
As I learned about this guy I couldn't help but think of Steve Martin.
You didn't see that coming, did you?
If you soften the definition of a Renaissance man a bit, Steve Martin fits the bill.
He disputes this. He doe not like to be called a Renaissance man. But the fact that people try to define him in this way tells you everything you need to know.
Carol and I saw Steve Martin in Boston MANY years ago when he was standing on stage with a fake arrow through his head playing his banjo.
He was f***ing hilarious. Little did we know........................
He is a master on the banjo. He plays it seriously and is famously excellent on it, recognized as such by professional banjo players.
In 2010 Martin won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, beating out established professional banjo players. And on this album were a number of original songs that Martin wrote for the banjo.
He is a successful author. Not limited to comedy writing but also kicking ass in the fiction field.
He is a respected art collector, with extensive knowledge in specific areas. Check out the work of Eric Fischl, a favorite of Martin's.
I did. I like it.
He also collects Picasso and Edward Hopper.
He wrote a work of fiction based on his knowledge of the art world. That is also on my Amazon wish list. It's called An Object of Beauty.
By the way, because I live in abject poverty, my Amazon wish list has 68 books on it. I will have to continue reading beyond my death to get through them all.
And I will.
Steve Martin is also recognized as an intellectual. He is a thinker. A knowledgeable and a smart man.
Who the hell knew the potential when we saw him on stage with a fake arrow through his head? If we gave it any thought at all we would have realized that any man who could make us laugh the way he did was gifted in more ways than were obvious. It takes hard work and an innate understanding of human nature to get people to forget about life's unfairness and just let loose and laugh.
My point is that most of us have a difficult time putting together a shopping list and keeping a job.
Yet there are people in the world like Jacques Barzun and Steve Martin and....................... who do everything, who learn everything, who are unconstrained and limitless.
Whose talents span genres and criticism and jealousy.
We can do better.
We can all do better.
Don't ever let the bastards get you down. Use your brain.

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