ART AND LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID

Today I find myself thinking of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the master of Magical Realism, and his book, Love in the Time of Cholera. It's more about the title than any similarity to the story itself. Maybe Stephen King's post-apocalytic bookThe Stand is better for comparison, and many of his fans are making that connection right now. For sure, we can count numerous novels and films in the sci-fi genre that have the ability to skew our perceptions of what this Covid-19 is, could be, might be, etc., conspiracy theories aside.

One of the toughest things for me, with this panic / pandemic / pandemonium is the non-handshake, non-hug hello, the non- kiss on the cheek, one side or both, that many of us are accustomed to. Daily. These small intimate gestures don't seem like much until we're told to forego them, for our sake and the health of those around us. One friend hugged me and then said, "well, if we can't hug or kiss, we might as well be dead." 

So, are we living in a time of magical realism itself, where rather than wash away, we can wish away a virus, because human touch means more to us? Is that another way of blurring the line between reality and myth? That's how artist Pandemonia describes herself. Called the Art World's Barbie, she's a bit like Banksy - she's real, we know she exists, but we don't know who she is or where she came from. Does that remind you of Covid-19?

Aside from all the art forms that will come out of this pandemic, I have other questions. Is Covid-19 more dangerous than "love" in a violent relationship that ends in death far more often than we'd like to believe? Or machismo that kills girls and women on a daily basis, with impunity in many cases? This was on my mind as we commemorated 8M, International Women's Day. 80,000 in Mexico City and thousands more around the world believe this is the pandemic of our existence right now. 

But every day now, we are blasted, and will continue to be, with more new findings about  Covid-19  and what to do about it. Are we all going to hide in our houses, working online, shopping online, until we have forgotten how to be with others? Isn't that what we all decry about social media, that it's made us forget how to interact with other humans? 

So the question to myself to day is, how do we show up for each other, take care of each other, more regularly, more authentically, move lovingly? 

Until we figure this out, I'll be blowing kisses to each and every one of you.