If I'm not interested in something, my attention span can be shorter than that of a fly.
When it comes to museums -- especially art museums -- I tend to think my eyes will glaze over and I'll be waiting by the door for my companions to finish their visit.
Yet each time I have visited an art museum, I have spent hours inside and left impressed by how much I enjoyed and learned from the experience. It happened a couple years ago when I visited my friend Em in Cincinatti.
And it happened again a few weeks ago in Seattle.
Five years ago when I started working here at YDR, editors wanted me to write about local artists and the local art community at least once a month. I didn't think it would be very interesting, but I wanted the job, so I agreed.
Each month, as I talked to different artists, watched them work, saw the finished products and wrote about it, I started realizing how cool art can be -- much more than an oil painting of a bowl of fruit (although I have nothing against oil paintings or fruit).
Every time I talk to an artist, write about an artist, or visit an art museum or gallery, I think about how much value was placed on works of art throughout history and even still in other cultures. And I get sad about how little we seem to care about it in this country.
Like writing, it's a form of expression and a way to interpret the craziness and/or beauty in the world around us.
A couple weeks ago, the mayor announced that York will be getting an art museum. I'm curious to know what you think about that. Can a town our size support it? Will the tourists come? Post a comment and share.
Yes! Let's all spend more time thinking about the value that art brings to our lives, than how politics invades our lives. York is on the move and the arts will help continue to the progress Mayor Brenner is trying to lead. Fear no art, Jennifer!