We talk to communicate, we use our hands to communicate, we write and we draw pictures. Throughout history, we have used some sort of way to communicate with each other. Whether we know it or not, we have been communicating with our pasts through written chronicles and (of course) art. If things weren't written down or drawn out, we would not know about our past glories and mistakes. We would not know (or think we know) on how people's mindsets were. Obviously, people now compared to people then aren't the same. Like for everything else in life, there has to be a reason why certain things were recorded. There's a history to everything in life. If you don't know or understand the history, you"ll have a hard time grasping the present. Think about that. Or in other words, you won't be able to understand something unless you know where it's coming from. All you will be able to do is assume.
Take for example, the piece of art I chose. I actually didn't choose a painting but a photograph of a stained glass window. The image on the stained glass window is Tupac Amaru Shakur. If you didn't know who he was, he was a rap superstar, who was shot to death (September 13, 1996). I decided to go with this image because the 7th anniversary of his death is coming soon (there is a urban legend about his 7th anniversary). He called himself Makaveli (the last album he made alive was called; Makaveli: Don Killumanati; The 7-Day Theory), and there is talk of a 7-day theory when it came to his life. He was shot on the 6th of September and died on the 13th. He "rose" on the 7th day. So many Tupac believers think he is coming back on the 13th of this month, to claim his rightful place as king of the people. .
The image is very beautiful. He has his hands at ease, behind him. He has his head down and he has his shirt off. He has a large cross medallion on his chest. His facial hair is gray and he is looking very Jesus Christ like.