Ashley Takacs | You're my inspiration

We've all been told to stop and smell the roses - but this is Penn. We don't stop for anything. I get annoyed if someone breaks to tie his shoes on a busy Locust walk. I don't even know what I would do if I saw a student stopping to sniff the daffodils in front of Huntsman Hall. But last weekend I was in serious need of some inspiration. More specifically, I needed a column topic - some great call to action. What I found was a call to inaction. Dear readers, my story is winding and riddled with cliches, but I promise I have a point. So please, get the jaded comments and eye rolls out of your system now, and hear me out.

OK, good. Last Sunday I ignored my mountain of homework and decided to look for that inspiration. Seeing that there weren't any actual roses to smell on campus, I opted for Sunflowers - my favorite Van Gogh painting, housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I had wanted to see the Cezanne exhibit for a while, and this little detour from reality seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Normally when I go to the museum, I take the Schuylkill path. But last weekend, I was in no mood for a nature hike - giving up an afternoon of studying was sacrifice enough. So, I hailed the nearest taxi in the hope of expediting the process. Fate, however, had something else in store. As the cab pulled on to the parkway, I met up with a wall of cars. Looking at the melee, the driver asked for his fare and promptly bid me adieu in broken English.

Getting out of the cab was akin to falling down the rabbit hole. As the PMA came into view, I encountered the source of the gridlock - hundreds of Greeks. No, not Frat row on a Thursday night - real Greeks, with flags, instruments and cultural costumes, sans explanation. It was inconvenient, bizarre, loud and, most of all, wonderful. The incident had slowed me down and distracted me from the work that awaited me back at Penn. Just what I didn't want and exactly what I needed.

After a couple of near-collisions with tourists on segways and one overzealous Rocky wannabe on rollerblades (yes, really), I made my way to the top of the PMA steps only to find a line of people that was literally out the door. Apparently, I wasn't the only one needing a little inspiration.

By the time I entered the exhibit, I had long forgotten about deadlines and schedules. The Cezannes were brilliant - no surprise there. But, for me, the most significant pieces were the ones not by Cezanne. The curators positioned works by Cezanne next to the paintings they directly inspired. In this manner, one can see strands of Cezanne's influence woven through the history of modern art, including masterpieces by Picasso and Matisse and contemporary works by Ellsworth Kelley and photographer Jeff Wall. Finally, the pieces were supplemented by quotes from the artists discussing how Cezanne inspired them. For many of the artists, their greatest works all started with a trip to a museum to see Cezanne (meta right?).

From the exhibit, we can see a community in dialogue - learning from and building on one another. Even Picasso admitted that his work was not created in a bubble. He once said, "[Cezanne] was my one and only master! Don't you think I looked at his pictures?" The fact that people far more talented than I needed a little inspiration made me feel better about my own situation. There is no shame in learning from others.

Sadly, Penn's pre-professional atmosphere tends to encourage competition over cooperation. Too eager to beat that curve, get that internship or win that award, the average Penn student doesn't take the time to be inspired by those around him. He forgets that the University is filled with an incredible cast of characters. So, here it comes, the sage advice that we've all heard before. Stop to smell the roses. Smell your classmates, smell your teachers, smell a Cezanne (the latter, if you're interested, has the scent of chalk dust and pipe tobacco).

Ashley Takacs is a College junior from Buffalo, N.Y. and the Graphis Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Ash Wednesday appears on Wednesdays. Her email address is takacs@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.