I ran across the following phrase in a book review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today.
Beauty is an interesting topic to me at the moment. People who saw the pictures I took of "The Gates" or heard me talk about the experience, often asked "What does it mean?" I wasn't surprised to hear this question, but I was surprised at my own reaction. While I explained patiently, sometimes at great length to people what this work of art might mean, I was often thinking to myself, "Beauty doesn't require meaning or interpretation." This take on life, that beauty is sufficient without meaning, might seem to place me in the minority, but I don't think it does. While people can't always wrap their head around avant-garde works of art that cost $20,000,000+, they all seemed to intuitively understand the joy and beauty of sunsets and fireworks. Note to Self: Next time I self-destruct, do it with beauty.
"... she is salvation and
damnation, a chance to self-destruct, but to do so beautifully."
-- John Freeman, "Noir and Blues", Star Tribune, 2/27/05
That's a great description of a female character in a book.
Beauty is an interesting topic to me at the moment. People who saw the pictures I took of "The Gates" or heard me talk about the experience, often asked "What does it mean?" I wasn't surprised to hear this question, but I was surprised at my own reaction. While I explained patiently, sometimes at great length to people what this work of art might mean, I was often thinking to myself, "Beauty doesn't require meaning or interpretation." This take on life, that beauty is sufficient without meaning, might seem to place me in the minority, but I don't think it does. While people can't always wrap their head around avant-garde works of art that cost $20,000,000+, they all seemed to intuitively understand the joy and beauty of sunsets and fireworks. Note to Self: Next time I self-destruct, do it with beauty.
