Finding what moves you...

            This can be hard to identify but once it is realized, it hits you like a lightening bolt and you can never go back. That's exactly the way it was for me with my first encounter with the work of Claude Monet. I was an  art history major in undergrad visiting the Art Institute of Chicago for the first time. This wasn't my first interaction with art or the first time I had seen a work by Monet, but it was my first in-person experience with the artist's work. I walked into the gallery that houses roughly 12-15 Monet canvases and for some reason tears started forming in my eyes. 

Photo taken in galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago

           Even now, years later I still have a visceral reaction whenever I see a "new" work by Monet, one that I have never seen before. I still cannot explain why Monet though. Yes, his work is exemplary and held to be of great importance, but his work is also very easy to like, pretty. After studying art history for some years now and examining the works of Monet more closely, along with countless other artists, going on many museum visits and exploring other works, I have found to critical elements that show up again and again in the works that my eye enjoys- light and color. Monet's work is an examination of these to elements of art and life that comes together to create works that resonate within me and many others.

Close up of a Monet painting

                

         Finding works of art that emotionally, physically, or even intellectually move you can be challenging and difficult, but once you find it, treasure it. Each new Monet that I visit is like a feast for my eyes... I take in every detail, from the brushstrokes to the colors. I sit and take it all in and I stand as close as possible. Finding Monet was like opening a door  and stepping through into a world I had only been looking at through a window. One that for me is dominated by light and color. This world is different for each of us... maybe it is the crisp lines and tones seen in a black and white photograph by Ansel Adams or the playful codification of a Jeff Koons sculpture. Whatever it maybe, when you find it, hold on to it, pursue it, and challenge it, and you will reap the benefits. 

~ Caitlin