Winters

I feel that the arts are important because they invite people to feel a unique connection with someone else. When viewing paintings- I am always caught up in the detail of the brushstrokes, imagining the artist at work. After letting the image of a photograph sink in, I picture the photographer actually on location trying dozens of angles, hoping to end up with the perfect one and I try to imagine what they were feeling based on the feeling I get from the photograph. When I don't understand a poem, I spend time trying to picture the poet's life based on what I know of them, even if it is very little... and I try to use that understanding as some sort of insight into the poem. I think all of this relates back to empathy and art's ability to bring complete strangers together, if only in a small way.