This is a view of the harbor of Le Havre, taken after my visit to the Musée d’art moderne André Malraux (MuMa) last Friday. I dedicate this image in honor of Robert Redford.
He was a great actor and, above all, an independent spirit who recognized the abuse of power and the injustice that arises from it.
In J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost (2013), he portrayed a man utterly alone at sea. In the midst of an existential struggle for survival, without any help or companionship, he persevered against all odds.
Robert Redford loved the poet William Butler Yeats, who wrote:
“But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” — W.B. Yeats, The Wind Among the Reeds
The world will deeply miss him.
Harbor of Le Havre with its Lighthouse. Photo credit: Simone Suzanne Kussatz / ARETE
About the Author
Simone Suzanne Kussatz was born in Germany and has lived in the United States, China, and France. She studied at Santa Monica College, UCLA, and the Free University of Berlin, and completed an internship at the American Academy in Berlin, assisting the Berlin Prize Fellows in 2000. She holds a Master’s degree in American Studies, Journalism, and Psychology, and worked as a freelance art critic in Los Angeles. Her deep interest in World War II history is informed by her family’s experiences of displacement and survival, her father’s escape from Berlin-Köpenick in 1955 before the construction of the Berlin Wall, and her late brother’s intellectual disability and epilepsy, which have given her a unique perspective on life. A former member of the Los Angeles Press Club, she is currently a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).
