Let's Survive Forever

I walk in the Art Gallery of Ontario and immediately I feel my breathing slow down, my shoulders un-shrug from being up near my ears. I can taste the anticipation of a couple of hours wandering through rooms filled with art. I won’t like all of it, I know that, but there will be some that I will stand in front of, then step back, then forward again and be drawn in.

I was ushered alone into an infinity-mirrored room, filled with silver spheres. I could see myself reflected beyond, and further beyond. The artistic installation challenging us to reflect on how we see ourselves in this world and beyond was named: “Let’s Survive Forever”.  Given the world we live in today, would that be a good idea? But the artist (Yayoi Kusama) used the word ‘Survive’, not ‘Live’, and that means something else entirely. So might we ‘survive’ the evil and corruption and power-hungry monsters in our current world? Survive until those forces are defeated?

I had arrived (yesterday, Jan 7, 2026) at the AGO after an appointment at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. It was a routine visit, a follow-up to discuss the arthritis progressing in my hands. The doctor said she often tells her patients, “It’s a case of if you don’t use it, you lose it.”

I was glad to hear that, because I thought the deterioration in my hands was a case of using them TOO MUCH! I paint, write by hand daily in my journal, type on the keyboard, thumb my phone much too often, grip a tennis racquet and pickle-ball paddle regularly. My hands get a workout every day. It’s why I limit my time doing domestic chores, or, at least, that’s been my excuse. But… use it or lose it. The doctor did say though that one has to adjust how you do those things, such as take little breaks. And I’m a pro at taking restful breaks. So, I was in a fairly optimistic mood when I arrived at the AGO.

As I wandered through the first two floors of the museum (I’ve learned to limit visits rather than try to take in everything which is overwhelming to the senses), I tried to understand what it was in a painting that drew me in. I tried to appreciate the modern installations of metal and light and giant structures which I could admire but not love. I noticed the flat paintings versus the ones that appeared different from various angles. And of course, being the immature artist that I am, I tried following the eyes in a painting. Would they look at me if I stood here? How about here?

I don’t pretend to understand art. I only know what I’m drawn to and what I’m not. But I do know that being in the presence of art does something to your body. Something that medicine cannot offer. And so, if one doesn’t work or works for only a short period of time, try the other.

I left the AGO feeling a lot better than when I’d entered. And then, when I got home, I turned on the news.

A cloth bag in the art store read: “To Be An Artist is to believe in Life” – Henry Moore.