Ever see a piece of art that made you cry? It’s a quaint idea. An artist can make you cry when they touch a place so far down tears seem to come for no reason. It’s not unlike putting your finger in the back of your throat and making yourself gag, an automatic reflex. It’s happened to me twice I can think of – once in front of a Picasso in the LA county museum, and once in front of a Van Gogh in Amsterdam. Didn’t feel sad, but each piece caught me unexpected, and I had to sit down – made my eyesight blurry. Except for that, it really wasn’t so bad.
Now, it might sound whimsical to those who haven’t experienced it, but another crew pads through every art museum they come to, and checks out the galleries, hoping to find the artist who has something personal to say just to them. Tears will probably come under control, but being open to a path of information which goes into the brain direct, without translation, can broaden the insights that shape the words. Mostly, what I feel but can’t explain is an acknowledgment of fundamental connection -- like finding a friendly island in the seas of modern times.
