The following phrase is part of a public artwork in the North Carolina Artworks
for State Buildings Program (percent for art). We are constantly being asked wha
t it means, or get complaints about what people think it means.

"Learning in old age is writing on sand, but learning in youth is engraving on s
tone."

It's an ancient Arabian proverb.

I'm posting this on the list to get reactions from around the nation (and the wo
rld) as to how people interpret this proverb. What do you think it means? How do
 you think it can be interpreted by others? What can we do to explain it better?

Since this isn't really museum stuff, I'd appreciate if you replied off-list to
my e-mail address.

(Please feel free to forward this to friends/colleagues who you think might be i
nterested in expressing their opinions).

Thanks in advance.

Maria Munoz-Blanco
Visual Arts Program Coordinator
North Carolina Arts Council
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Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my agency.