Percussion Deconstruction™

Most artists have heard it at least once in their lifetime, either about their own work, or someone else's, the non-artist declaring, “I could do that!” I've heard that from so many people about various artistic disciplines. If only it were that simple! First, let's start off with a video: ↵ Use original player I Could Do That | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios By The Art Assignment YouTube 720p 360p ← Replay X i I personally feel this video gives a good rebuttal to the afore mentioned statement of, “I could do that.” In fact, this does a good job of covering all art forms. But things actually go much deeper than the video talks about. I'm a big lover of modern art, say from the last 100 or so years. And whenever I travel, I try to go to the local art museums. I was in New York City last month and went to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). It was exciting for me, because I was able to see some of my favorite works in pers...

A recent trip to NYC reinforced just how important it is to experience art in person. I love to go to art museums when I travel, so on this trip we made our way to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).  It's one thing to see a work of art in a book or on a monitor, but it's a completely different thing when you can see something in person. A photo of a work of art is flat and gives you no perspective as to the size of it. I have found that many painting I thought were large turned out to be small in person (or the other way around). A photo of a painting is at best an approximation of the actual work. It can't show you the true richness of the colors, the subtle differences in shades, the layers of paint, the brush/palette knife strokes, or a hundred other things.  You have to experience them in person. A photo is nice, but… And experience is the right word. It's more than just seeing the painting. It's being in the actual presence of the work, being in the same...