Voyagers are very lucky to have Professor Fred Levine on board this semester. Both an author and lecturer on a vast range of issues in art and cultural studies, Fred is currently a professor of art history at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. He has previously taught at the University of Texas, Northwestern University, Colorado State University, and the University of Tasmania in Hobart. He is also no stranger to life at sea. For the past twenty years, he has sailed as a lecturer on art and architecture aboard cruise ships around the world and this semester marks Fred’s third voyage with Semester at Sea.
Fred is one of the rare people who recognize art in daily life. From exceptional architecture, to natural wonders, to paintings on the walls, he is able to capture the essence of art and help the rest of us relate to it.
Earlier today, I had the chance to sit in on one of the three courses that Fred is offering this semester, Migrations of Art. As the title suggests, students in this class are learning about how different techniques, styles, and themes have migrated around the globe over history. However, there is an additional element to the course, unique to Semester at Sea that Fred offers his students. Using the skills of visual analysis and interpretation, students in Migrations of Art use the pieces they learn about in class and see in the field as a framework for analyzing their own experiences during the voyage.
I’ll use today’s lecture as en example. The main discussion focused around Travelers Amid Mountains and Streams by the Chinese painter, Fan Kuan. Considered to be one of the finest Chinese artists of all time, Kuan lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1030) and was known for his incredible landscapes.
Travelers Amid Mountains and Streams in particular is viewed as an incredible work of art, which served as a model to other Chinese artists. As Professor Levin explained during class, “One of the things that Chinese paintings tend to do over and over again…is to teach you to look at details.” He told us how Kuan would spend hours studying objects in nature to see how they interacted with the world around them. I don’t know if this representation of the painting (which is actually ink on silk) can actually do it justice, but just look at how intricate everything is – the mountain in the background and the path, set among the rocks and trees down below.
If you look closely on the right side of the painting, you will notice that there is a mule pack with two figures descending down the path of the mountain from a temple that is shown in the forest on the cliff. In Chinese artwork, paths are typically represented as a metaphor for life’s journey. Fred continued to explain how the boulders along the path signify the difficulties one may face in life and “how you need to climb over obstacles to get there in the first instance.”
Take note of how small the humans in this work are though compared to their surroundings. They almost seem to get lost in the grandeur of nature. It just shouts, “Take the time to be, to just stop and look a tree and enjoy and experience the journey while you find your identity,” Dr. Levin commented.
Now transition this to our current journey. After seeing so much of the world with our own eyes, how small do we feel? Maybe somewhat like the people in this painting. We are also nearing the completion of our voyage; we are on our “descent,” just like the figures on the path. We have had obstacles in our path over the past few months, but we have worked around them and made it through. Most importantly, I think we all learned to stop and observe both people and nature and really take in the most that this journey offers.
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