The Deal of the Art

Posted on February 8, 2017 by deconstructingdoctor

img_1656I had the strange notion to visit an art museum today.  I had the day off, the kids were in school and I had no desire to peruse the aisles of Target again, mindlessly dropping things into my cart that may or may not contribute to the bottom line of some evil CEO and Trump cabinet member.  I hadn’t been to an art museum in years.  I just felt the NEED to go.

I felt the NEED to connect to humans in a way that spans time and space.  I was seeking stillness.  I wanted the art to speak to me, quietly, shyly at first, then explosively like an atomic bomb of understanding.  It can’t lie to me.  It can’t manipulate me.  It can’t mislead me, sell me something, take my money and my dignity.  It can’t take away thought or speech.  It just remains there, suspended for all eternity.  I can take my time with it.  I can look at it or not. I can stand 2 inches from it or 10 feet away.  I can let it wash over me.

And I did.

I intermingled with the retirees and the large groups of school kids.  I eavesdropped on the curators explaining the intricacies of the pieces, their eyes reliving the details as if making the strokes on the canvas themselves.  They must have told the same story a thousand times, but what love in their voices!

How eternal are our human struggles.  Love.  Freedom.  Tyranny.  War.  Family.  Hunger.  Joy.  Oppression.  Humor.  The deep and unrelenting desire to connect the dots.  To make sense of our world.  To make sense of our place.  And our purpose.  It seems that the same human story continues as if on an eternal loop.  We never seem to move much farther ahead.  You win some.  You lose some.  You live to fight another day.  The sum total of all the battles is a life.  One small little human life.

For a brief moment, I found myself outside on a balcony overlooking the city all by myself.  There were large sculptures of a woman and some weird circular thingy with a hole in the center (probably also a woman).  I walked to the edge and stared out over the bustling city.  Noisy and busy.  But also quite beautiful. A man sat on a park bench across the street playing a trumpet.  A homeless man sat against a tree in front of a church.  Business men and women hurriedly walked to and fro, likely heading out for lunch.  The cars and buses, the sirens.  The low drone of voices on cell phones crescendoing at first and then decrescendoing as they walked passed.

The scene was energizing.  I no longer wanted to escape the world.  I wanted to jump back in.  Move forward.  Find my voice and speak my truth.  I walked out of the museum and found my place among the city dwellers, the men and women in their work attire, walking briskly into the future.

 

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102 Responses to The Deal of the Art

  1. Kristel Marie Pujanes says:
    February 22, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    What a beautiful post! 🙂 It’s always been a dream of mine to go to a gallery or museum alone. I think I’ll do that next month–go off, by myself. The part about the little human life reminded me so much of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Heather says:
    February 22, 2017 at 3:26 am

    Your words gave me goosebumps! I loved every bit of this post. I am currently making sense of my life and finding my purpose, this post just seemed to flow with the theme of my present. ❤ beautiful

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Chunchu says:
    February 21, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    Relatable!
    I love it!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. theculturefashion says:
    February 21, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    Loved you post. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  6. thetantrumsofsilence says:
    February 21, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    Whoa! Just came across your blog and the very first post Stunned me!!
    Really, what an amazing piece of write-up! ❤
    The beauty, simplicity, flow, everything was so very nourishing.
    I am looking forward to read more from you.
    Stay connected. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Carla Green says:
    February 21, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    Beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Pingback: The Deal of the Art – 👁️ STREETPSYCHIATRY 👁️

  9. Jazz says:
    February 21, 2017 at 6:20 am

    This blog beautifully points out to the truth that no matter how much we wish to escape from our busy lifestyles, that is where we belong, and we have to get back there to live… an amazing blog by you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  10. viewsofbeauty says:
    February 20, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    Well written, I really like it. 😊💥

    Liked by 1 person

  11. akakancha says:
    February 20, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Art museums will bring back the lost connections with the basic human in us…Thanks for sharing this with us.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Kathy Chenault -- World Witness says:
    February 20, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    I applaud you for the scope of your message and the way you deepen meaning with the intricacies of your observations. For those of us still struggling with recent developments and trying to find our way, this is a valuable guide to encourage us to keep moving toward the light — even if so much seems suspended, threatened and oh so frightening.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Debonair says:
    February 20, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    Fantastic writing

    Liked by 1 person

  14. angelepong says:
    February 20, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    A very inspiring blog, specially to those who really love arts that all the works of an artist has a purpose and can open the mind of people to appreciate it. Thanks for that ☺️ i really do love arts.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. jonhleryopalla says:
    February 20, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    The t-shirts’ art symbolizes the real situation of what is happening in the world. People wears mask of which the reality is covered by the convenience that they are living in today’s generation. In fact, the world is gradually declining in the natural resources that God has given. The resources that people are consuming came from the nature which the people neglect its importance.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Guise says:
    February 20, 2017 at 11:53 am

    I really enjoyed this piece. It felt as if you took us along with you, and we were able to feel as you did at any point in time.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Akshay Kumar Sihag says:
    February 20, 2017 at 9:05 am

    i love to visit museum

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Jojo Andrew M. Puerto says:
    February 20, 2017 at 8:51 am

    I really love how you manage creativity of your text. Love it

    Liked by 1 person

  19. annjekins says:
    February 20, 2017 at 3:28 am

    Sounds like it was just what you needed.. Stay strong..

    Liked by 1 person

  21. cbrizifire says:
    February 19, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    Like it

    Liked by 1 person

  22. TJ says:
    February 19, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    Beautiful description. So glad you answered the call of your soul and connected to art everywhere it was available, in the museum and everywhere around it. I did this once as a date I took myself on and it was very satisfying and peaceful.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. jemedoisdetremoirania says:
    February 19, 2017 at 9:06 pm

    Wow … you just took me with you… 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Abstract_Vineet_Pandey says:
    February 19, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    I am just amazed at how beautifully you have described an activity which can be taken and ignored as an mundane in a casual overlook. But I guess it’s the beauty in narration which brings out the beauty n keeps one engaged and mull over the beauty of an otherwise avoided activity.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. joyvalerieodundo says:
    February 19, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    hey deconstructing doctor I really loved your piece of work so inspiring and could you please mentor me into being a better blogger

    Liked by 2 people

  27. Alicia Reardon says:
    February 19, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    I loved your post! I visit the museum in Toledo every year and it never fails! I’ve had the privilege of seeing wonderful works of art including Monet and Van Gogh. Everyone needs an escape now and then, right?

    Liked by 1 person

  28. namrata1013 says:
    February 19, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    This is so amazing

    Liked by 1 person

  29. bibliomaniacreads says:
    February 19, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    Art museums are simply exquisite, they always leave me in awe. They have a sense of tranquility and the paintings that are solely painted by such misunderstood painters always leave me speechless. As people we will never truly understand what went through the minds of those talented artists

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Pingback: ReBlog: The Deal of the Art -deconstructingdovtor.com | Stacey's Reality

  31. Shubham Kasera says:
    February 19, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    You have described every detail of your feeling perfectly. You can I was imagining all of it in front of my eyes. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  32. Skyscapes for the Soul says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    Great to hear the medical viewpoint on art. I also found you on discover and reblogged this on my art blog.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Skyscapes for the Soul says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    Reblogged this on Skyscapes for the Soul – Jeni Bate and commented:
    Advice from a doctor… art is good for your health. Well, your mental health anyway. (Don’t drink the turps and don’t lick your brush 🙂 )

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Liberty On the Lighter Side says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    Wow – actually amazed at the timing of your post as I have been mulling over this issue, but from the opposite end of the spectrum. I am an artist and lately a writer but I often find it is hard to stay motivated as, unlike being a doctor who serves such a necessary function in society, art at times can seem superficial and nonessential to the day to day grind of life. Because my father was a surgeon I have possibly felt my career choice has been self indulgent and ‘fluffy’. What encouraged me from your post is the fact that art is so invigorating it can actually bring life too! In that sense medicine and art can serve the same purpose – they both can help to restore and renew. Perhaps I ought to be taking my work a whole lot more seriously 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  35. BhaskarK says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    The fourth paragraph reminded me of Sagan’s Pale blue dot. Beautiful !

    Liked by 1 person

  36. The Leaky Inkpot says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    I haven’t been to a museum …but on Instagram I love photography pages about people…their faces, our difference an our similarities…those pictures present humans in an understandable light. Thanks for the article all the same

    Liked by 1 person

  37. askingtheworldwhy says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    I had the same feeling on Friday, I went to a museum and came out with a complete new vision, the fear of saying what I think had vanished, to let the need to spread new ideas be there instead, moving forward and look into the future, not the past. 🙂 Well done! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  38. Albina Shehetila says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:04 pm

    “How eternal are our human struggles. Love. Freedom. Tyranny. War. Family. Hunger. Joy. Oppression. Humor. The deep and unrelenting desire to connect the dots. To make sense of our world. To make sense of our place. And our purpose. It seems that the same human story continues as if on an eternal loop. We never seem to move much farther ahead. You win some. You lose some. You live to fight another day. The sum total of all the battles is a life. One small little human life.”

    Thank you for sharing , so true and beautiful every word !

    Liked by 2 people

  39. pratap singh says:
    February 19, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    No one can understand it

    Liked by 1 person

  40. Gabe Burkhardt says:
    February 19, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Discover referred me here, so I’d better remember to send them a huge thank you.

    Really glad to have found your blog. I haven’t run into many bloggers yet who, like me, have chosen blogging ( and art therapy) as a means of shedding some of the scar tissue we collected during our medical practices.

    Also like you, I recognize the need to make and maintain genuine connections with people.

    I’d better stop before this becomes a list of things starting with the phrase “like you” but please know that I love your blog and look forward to including it in my daily dose from the WordPress reader.

    Liked by 1 person

  41. Julie Means Kane says:
    February 19, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    Beautifully written! Your story here is a reminder that, when I when I have a spell of mental disorganization, usually just before a new insight emerges, I should listen to some good music, focus my attention on the beautiful, read some good writing – like yours – and just wait. Feed the soul and our energies return. Thank you for this.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. anilpoudyal says:
    February 19, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    Yeh I too love them

    Liked by 1 person

  43. dawnkinster says:
    February 19, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    “Find my voice and tell the truth.” I think the world would be better if we all did the same. Great post.

    Liked by 1 person

  44. 2ndhalfolife says:
    February 13, 2017 at 2:35 pm

    And you went home and that art inspired you to create your art….lovely

    Liked by 2 people

  45. Maggie Wilson says:
    February 9, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    Love this. You needed a time out, you took care of yourself, and it sounds like the museum was just what the doctor ordered.

    No pun intended.

    OK. Pun intended. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  46. Glenn Redus says:
    February 9, 2017 at 9:12 am

    Love the t-shirt. I have it on a tie.

    Liked by 1 person

  47. http://www.salpa58.wordpress.com says:
    February 9, 2017 at 2:30 am

    What a great way to rejuvenate your outlook on life. Well penned. :o)

    Liked by 2 people

  48. drugopinions says:
    February 9, 2017 at 12:51 am

    I used to visit art museums a lot. when I used to travel in Europe, I would spent the entire days in the art museums. Art is therapeutic, whether you enjoy the piece of art work or creating one yourself. You don’t have to “understand” but if it makes you feel better, then you have made a meaningful connection with it. Hope you get to go more often!

    Liked by 4 people

  49. Deb says:
    February 8, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    I love art museums, even when I don’t “get” the art 😃

    Liked by 6 people

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