Reflections on Art

I was in the Vancouver art Gallery this afternoon, and I had what is perhaps a nerdy but very intense experience. While looking at the painting "the letter" by Vermeer, more commonly known as the love letter, I was struck by feeling as though I was actually inside the painting, I could almost feel my hand on the heavy velvet curtain while I played the unseen role of the voyeur.

Ever since reading the book pictures and tears, a book about people who cry in front of art I have tried to be more open tot he visceral reactions that art (in so many forms) inspires in me. My years in a psychology degree kind of wrecked art for me because I was convinced there was no way to quantify what I was feeling. However, some recent research has shown that we do have physiological reactions to art, along with our emotional and philosophical responses.

Which explains why when I was looking at some of Emily Carr's paintings in the same gallery I was overcome with a sense of claustrophobia. Not the same claustrophobia I get when in crowds, but a comforting feeling of enclosement and protection, I have always felt very safe in forests.

I love being an academic and I have sometimes toyed with the idea of studying more about art history and interpretation, but I think I will hold off on that. For the time being, I want to enjoy my immediate responses and not think so much about them. Sure I will always dig for facts and history about art, but I don't think I will ever start letting people tell me how art should make me feel