SOS

This is one of the paintings we used to illustrate the Renaissance in lecture today; Giotto's Lamentation. It's absolutely stunning and, although I am not particuarly religious, it helped me through the harder times in my life. The students were bored and annoyed.

We ask them simply to look at some of the most beautiful works of art that have ever been created and they get irritated. They talk, or go to sleep, or leave.

Beauty does not speak to them; vulgarity does.

And I have no idea how I'm supposed to make any difference in that situation.