Art is relative.

There was one work I recently saw at the MoMA that caught my attention instantly: "Ray Gun Virus" by Paul Sharits.
In the corner of a room hung 2 long velvety black curtains to signify that once inside, you will enter darkness.Inside was only a projector displaying slides of flickering colors and grainy patterns. I glared at the screen but I couldn't seem to look away. I was drawn, pulled and caught in the endless change of slides. My peripheral vision seemed to forget that the rest of the room was pitch black; the colors began to multiply and bleed into the walls which soon resulted in me forgetting where I am. I'm absolutely sure I was alone in that room for at least twenty minutes which in fact felt like 1 minute. The only thing I heard was the amplified sound of the projector endlessly changing slides which farther pushed my lack of connection with reality at the moment. The second somebody walked in I was obviously quite startled at the unexpected intrusion which clearly signified I was fully absorbed in this work. Very rarely do I ever feel so incredibly drawn to a piece. Of course, I am attracted to art more than the common person but this, this is a feeling like no other. It was terrifying and beautiful all at once. Whatever the artist intended, words will never suffice to give justice towards its affect of me.

Here's a video of it.



There is another particular artist who fascinates me beyond an accepted level of curiosity: Edward Hopper.
To the untrained eye, he could very well be defined as flat out boring however, that's where the common human fallacy comes in; looking but not seeing.
Hopper takes the most obscure scenes such as a boarded up street corner, the lonely store-front bar, a woman just waking up while looking out into a terribly dead city...everything and nothing you would expect.
He shows you commonality. He shows you every day life. He shows you the persistent loneliness that plagues man. He takes the uneventful and makes it an event.
Find a Hopper painting and just stay focused on it. Undoubtedly, you'll project yourself onto the canvas, you'll understand, you'll feel what is meant to be felt.
Remember to not only look, but see.

Here's some of his work.