Each generation nourishes the next. That's the circle of life. And the circle is generous and replenishing; without it there would be no saga and no paradox. It asks us to wrap ourselves around big things and ideas, and to ponder them for instruction and insight. The circle welcomes us at the beginning of life and guides and shapes our principles until the end.
A recent revelation gave me the invigorating sense that I have come full circle.
Years ago Robert and I attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. We had great teachers, the environment was intensely creative and demanding, and we developed a sense of responsibility that would take us around the world — literally.
We also created meaningful friendships that continue to turn and deepen like the seasons of a year.
Recently, we learned that the daughter of our friend Stephen Babolcsay is now attending the HSAD. Even better, Jade is being taught by a mutual friend, Jorge Cordero, one of our classmates at this special school. A school that was, in part, the inspiration for the movie and television show Fame. A school that rests in the heart of New York City — a beacon to creative people all over the world.
I immediately felt connected to Jade. I know the circle of her life will expand and gain speed, just as my own did as I grappled with the expectations and ideals defined by previous generations of HSAD students and faculty.
I recall long days of study that included not only required academic courses, but four glorious hours of art. Young, ambitious — wild and crazy— to get to school most of us had to spend more than an hour (one way) every day on a subway train, traveling from the outer boroughs (me from Queens and Robert from Brooklyn).
It was all very challenging, but it gave us the kind of independence our friends in the neighborhood didn't have. Most of the kids who lived near me spent half days in a school that was a short walk from home — a small circle of enterprise, in my opinion. They also had loads of time for play and relaxation. Meanwhile, those of us who attended HSAD returned home late only to begin work on an intensive all-night or all-weekend project. (We did of course sneak in lots of fun and parties in between...which added to our life experience). Those conditions alone — forget for a moment the unique curriculum and remarkable teachers — had a profound effect on me. Each day was itself a circle of life, with barely any sleep, day turning to night and then morning, time for school already — that defied the conventional sense of day and night.
The days would turn to weeks and months and then into years of endeavor that had us repeating the disciplines of previous generations while upholding and embellishing the artistic traditions that would circle around and inspire Jade and her classmates.
I don't know who Jade emulates, but my graduating class had many former students to look up to: Helmut Krone, Henry Wolf, Tony Bennett, Ralph Bakshi, Harvey Feirstein, Calvin Klein, Antonio Lopez, and Steve Maisel, for example.
Not that fame is the only measure of skill and accomplishment. It's not. But the names I mention form an impressive circle of creativity and success. They are a reminder that within the circle of life there are concentric circles, such as journey from student to professional, from abstract to reality, and from yearning to fulfillment. My classmates Joe Jusko, William Low and of course, the amazing world famous Tony Chi, know these circles intimately. Like Robert and I, they have succeeded. And so too has Stephen Babolcsay, whose circle of life expanded to other realms of endeavor in the art world, equally important and successful — he worked in renowned studios and then at the iconic art supply shops A.I. Friedman and Pearl Paint where he shared his expertise to support other artists. And it goes without saying that Jorge Cordero has succeeded in closing the circle.
Thinking back on my total immersion in an atmosphere of renegade creativity, I wonder about my teachers. They were active artists in their own right, dedicated, determined. I wonder if they knew then how wide their circle of influence actually was. They provided more than a fine arts education. They shared global perspectives — another vast circle — that to this day shape my view of business and politics and love and beauty and the world.
My awareness of the next generation.
Art is a continuum. It nourishes and motivates. It puts fuel in the tank of the circle of life, so that the quest for fulfillment, peace and consciousness never ends.
Good luck, Jade. You're at the right place at the right time.
Your time.
Regina Rubino. Robert Louey.
