I recently rented Herb & Dorothy a documentary by first time filmmaker Megumi Sasaki about Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, a postal clerk and librarian who built a vast, world class collection of contemporary art on their extremely modest means. How did they do it? Well the long answer is by living very sparsely on Dorothy's income, by developing friendships with many prominent artists and finally because of their discerning eye for what to buy. But the short, simple, and equally true answer is through love.
Though not billed as a love story, and certainly not a traditional one at that, Herb & Dorothy was for me an enduring love story. The story is not only about the love Herb and Dorothy have for each other which is quite evident but also the love they have for art. Watch them look at art, listen to them speak with artists and follow their enthusiastic lead in a tour of their collection and it is clear that this couple is passionate about the art they collect. It is not often that movies explore the realm of love outside of romantic relationships though it is this kind of love which lets us squeeze the maximum joy of out life. This love buoys us between heartaches, beyond loss, and sustains us for the next romantic love. So find your passion, follow your bliss, be boldly eccentric, or elegantly understated, do it your way but always do it with love. Herb and Dorothy would be proud.
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