The Live Experience

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 room/building, and being with other people having the same experience.

 The same can be said for music. You can have the best home sound system, but listening to music from a CD/LP/Digital File is nothing like experiencing it live. It's being in the actual presence of the musicians, being in the same room/building, and being with other people having the same experience that makes the difference.

 So listen to your CDs, look at your books, watch your DVDs; but don't forget to go out and experience something live and in person. Go to a concert, an exhibition, a play/musical, a dance, a reading—anything live.

 You will be a better person for it, and so will the artist/s.

 ~ MB


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