A Change of... Art?

When I was a little kid, I would decide that I liked something based on how it piqued my interest. A book was good if it held my attention and music was worth listening to if it was fun to sing along to. Movies were great if they were entertaining and paintings were marvelous if they were colorful or just simply pretty. I don't know if it has anything to do with growing up or not but lately I've had a change of heart.

Ever since the beginning of senior year I've learned to appreciate art for more than its' face value. Maybe it's because I had finally started opening my mind and allowed myself to feel what the artists were trying to say... instead of just simply studying it. There is a monumental difference between studying what you are supposed to see with a cold analytical eye and embracing what you naturally feel as a response with your heart.

Now I've found that lately when I see a movie or read a book, it has to be more than simply entertaining. Sure, entertaining movies and books can be good; but not great. I've found that in order for me to classify something as "amazing" or "phenomenal" the piece of art has to make me feel something. It has to touch my soul in some way or affect me either emotionally or spiritually.

The book "Everything is Illuminated," movies like "Invictus" or "Gladiator" and the music from "The Phantom of the Opera" have all brought me to various emotional/spiritual heights. And that is what makes art so astronomically phenomenal. It makes us relate and can actually stagger us to the point of stillness. It stimulates us to genuinely contemplate and to feel something in a world that has become so violent and desensitized.

For a moment, art gives us a connection with its creator. When we read, or watch, or listen... we feel a little piece of what the artist felt and can see the spark of their passion. And at the core, that connection is the true nature of art. It's a piece of the artist; evidence that they were here, that they existed and felt and had a soul. Every time we read or watch or hear something that makes us feel... it's evidence that we are here feeling too and that our hearts are answering theirs. And every time we write or make music or draw something of our own... it creates the evidence that we were here, we felt something, and that we have a soul.

So I'm here, writing to you...