A gorilla is standing in front of a Van Gogh.
He’s standing in front of this painting and he’s intrigued.
‘What exactly is this thing?’ he wonders. ‘What does it mean?’
He wants to understand this painting, so he begins to study it.
He makes a list of all the colors in the painting. Maybe that will get him closer to understanding the painting.
Then he invents a microscope and sees that the paint is made of chemicals, and the chemicals made of particles.
He feels like he’s getting closer to understanding.
‘Science is the way!’ he clamors.
Little does he know that his approach isn’t getting him any closer to understanding the painting.
Categorizing the shapes and colors of the painting is a red herring. The painting is not a sum of its measurable parts. It’s more than that.
But how can it be more than that?
Because it’s ART.
And when it comes to art one does not study and analyze in order to understand. One must FEEL their way into art.
One looks at a piece of art and, in an instant, either understands it or doesn’t.
I believe that LIFE is art.
It is not something to be studied or analyzed. It is something to be felt.
It is a play, a dance, a song, a poem.
And the sooner we realize this the sooner we will cease to be the confused gorilla staring at a Van Gogh.
