Freda Coffing Tschumy-Sculptures, Drawings & More

I believe that art is a vehicle of empathy, that it enables us to experience what others experience on a personal level and on an intercultural level. It is no accident that the arts in general are called “culture.” We grow in it. We expand the horizons of our own understanding by absorbing the deeply felt, carefully considered and expressed experiences of others. Their experiences become our experiences. Focused, deeply felt experiences change us. Because our minds are idea catchers, great art doesn’t just allow us to share the artist’s vision, it can actually change the way we see (or hear, or taste, or feel). A “cultivated person” is one who has collected many others’ experiences. We share our humanity through the arts. A clue to the consequences of this sharing may be found in the Latin derivation of the word “culture.” The root is cultura, meaning cultivation or care. When the experience of strangers becomes our own experience, we know in some particular way what it’s like to be them, and so they are no longer strange. We come to understand them as human beings like our selves. Through this empathic involvement we learn to care about and for others.