Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Guyana United Artists (GUA) I wish to convey to the family and relatives of the late Maestro Philip Moore our deepest heartfelt sympathy.
Mr Moore’s departure as the father of the visual arts is the culmination of the migration of many of our senior artists to the metropolitan societies where their presence is best appreciated. Of course Mr Moore had ample opportunity to live in the United States of America, but he chose to live in Guyana to inspire and nurture a younger generation of Guyanese artists, and for that we are extremely grateful.
The Guyanese artists‘ community is at a crucial juncture, faced with destitution on the one hand and by division and opportunism on the other.
In 1997, we were honoured to have Mr Moore participate in the launching of the Guyana United Artists which in 2012 celebrates its 15th anniversary. And every year thereafter he participated giving splendour to our display with his huge chandeliers, sculptures and paintings.
Though renowned for the 1763 monument, Philip Moore was a transcendentalist from the impersonalist school of thought. His objective was self-realization, a return to god-head. He subscribed to the Sastras belief that the substratum of all human existence is divinity, that mankind possesses the instruments that have to be refined in order to acquire the status of the god-man. Please note that the word ‘impersonalist’ is used as in Vedic vocabulary.
The maestro worked fastidiously throughout his lifetime producing a collection that could go to make up ‘The Philip Moore Meditation Museum’ in which visitors could experience the peace and universal harmony generated from his work. One cannot assimilate the depth of the maestro’s work by merely glancing at it; it requires first contemplation, reflection and thereafter, meditation.
It is indeed regrettable that Mr Moore did not see the creation of the Philip Moore Meditation Museum in his lifetime. It is left up to us to petition those in authority who will well recognize the magnitude of Philip Moore’s work now that he is no more with us on this physical plane of existence. Rather than pay lip service to the greatness of his work, it would be far better to invest in the creation of the Philip Moore Meditation Museum which would be a fitting tribute to this great man and a blessing to the Guyanese nation.
Yours faithfully,
Desmond Alli
General Secretary
Guyana United Artists
