The spirit of strengths-building is alive and well in the arts, and we regard Keith Haring to be the patron saint of Positivity Matters in a manner similar to how Marshall McLuhan is the patron saint of WIRED Magazine.
“Art should be something that liberates your soul, provokes the imagination, and encourages people to go further.” ~Keith Haring
An untitled Haring at the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, NE, is a fantastic visualization of strengths-building. An ekphrastic poem, ‘Shoulders,’ co-authored by Lawrence Chatters with his daughter hangs alongside the Haring and gives voice to the strengths-based energy that the piece exudes. The two towers of people might be interpreted as symbolizing playfulness and kindness.
Strong Shoulders:
Haring was inspired by Robert Henri.
“Find out what you really like if you can. Find out what is really important to you. Then sing your song. You will have something to sing about and your whole heart will be in the singing.” ~Robert Henri
Henri was inspired by Walt Whitman.
“I am larger, better than I thought,
I did not know I held so much goodness.
All seems beautiful to me,
I can repeat over to men and women You have done such good to me I would do the same to you…”
~Walt Whitman
Whitman was inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“Be yourself… your best self… Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great…” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson