The Wisdom of Sunflowers: Part II--Reunion

We were drawn to the sunflowers the moment we saw "Fresh Bouquet" displayed  among Roman Czerwinski's many paintings. What Esther and I did not understand at first was how deeply connected we were to that work.

Friday is Art Night on Lahaina's Front Street. Over the years we have met and conversed with world-famous artists, including Robert Lyn Nelson, whose marine life paintings are legendary. We've also spent "quality time" with the Italian Twins,  Alessio and Marcello Bugagiar, whose exquisite work we greatly admire. 

On this special Art Night, there was only one artist we wanted to see--the one who, 20 years ago, had invited each of our two little girls to place a leaf on one of his impressionist paintings. By prearrangement, we arrived at Sargents Fine Art where Roman was waiting to greet us.

It's hard to explain, but the three of us felt an immediate bond, as if the intervening years had collapsed into days. We gathered in a small, private showroom to share memories and update our life stories. Then, Roman told us about the painting and what it meant to him. 

The sunflowers recalled his childhood in Poland, playing football while rubbing the golden flowers in the palms of his hands to free and eat the seeds. The bright red vase reminded him of the Solidarity Movement that toppled the Communist regime in his native country--being the first of many dominoes to fall in Eastern Europe by 1989. Roman told of his days as one of many unarmed student activists, who occupied his university buildings, facing down a powerful, teargas-tossing militia. He signs his paintings in red, because Czerwinski means 'red' in Polish. He spoke in a reverent tone of being present at Pope John Paul II's 1979 speech. Employing what has been called "soft power," the pope told the crowds, "Be not afraid." Roman interpreted the message as, "Follow your heart." A year later the Solidarity Movement became a force for freedom. Truly, a David vs. Goliath.

For our part, we shared our emotional 2010 visit to the very shipyard in Gdansk, where dockworker Lech Walesa led a  strike that--after much suffering--succeeded in overcoming the regime. Walesa went on to become president of the newly free Poland.

During the hour we spent together, we came to see that our friend Roman is not only a great artist, but a deeply spiritual, caring, and generous man. As we were parting, I told him that I felt a strong fraternal connection between us.

Czerwinski's "Fresh Bouquet" now occupies an honored place in our home. 

[Note: Our reunion with Roman Czerwinski took place on August 17, 2012.]

See also: http://www.sargentsfineart.com/artist/roman.php

Alfred J. Garrotto is the author of The Saint of Florenville: A Love Story

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(c) 2012 by Alfred J. Garrotto

Vacation or Crash Course in 20th c. History?

I took this photo on July 13, 2009, at a still-standing portion of the Berlin Wall that faces the former Eastern Zone. Although the inscription was a recent addition to the colorful graffiti, I found its simple message appropriate and moving.

Esther and I spent 13 days in Northern Europe. Our vacation turned into a crash course in 20th century European and Russian history. In addition to having the privilege of touching the Wall, we also stood at the shipyard gates in Gdansk, Poland, where Lech Walesa and his brave coworkers, founded the Solidarity movement and demanded justice for dock workers and their families. The Communist authorities severely persecuted the strikers. What the regime didn't know in the late 1970s was that their punitive response marked the beginning of the end for a brutal system of government that expected to impose its will into the future, without end.

Although I'm still processing the thoughts and emotions experienced in our travels, I can say that I learned three important truths:

1. Ordinary, seemingly powerless people can change the world by standing up for what they believe.

2. Leaders who use power to oppress their people are nothing more than paper tigers. Their "absolute power" is a fiction. They can oppress only until people wake up and say they've had enough.

3. The human spirit cannot be crushed for long. Good will overcome evil in the end. Just not soon enough to prevent untold suffering. Sadly, someone needs to put his or her life on the line--as Jesus did--to expose the emptiness of evil.

Nov. 9, 2009, will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall and reunification of Germany. There will be a mammoth celebration in Berlin. My heart will be there, too, celebrating the triumph of freedom and praying for all in the world who still suffer under oppressive regimes. May they find courage to expose the paper tigers cowering beneath the use of savage force.