I was at an exhibition with a friend of mine. We would occasionally go and do the pretentious afternoon thing. This time it was an exhibition of a fairly new artist. The works ranged from simple line drawings in charcoal to big, full canvas paintings, expressions of energy in a variety of media.
He wasn't too impressed, but then he rarely is. I couldn't describe what I was feeling. Just about everything sang to me. It wasn't so much a conscious appreciation than a deep and emotional stirring. The paintings particularly touched so many strings in me that I could feel a whole symphony swell up and rush through my blood in one of the rooms.
As we had already gone around to several other galleries and exhibitions that day, my sudden burst of enthusiasm was too much for my friend to take and he headed home. Well, more likely he headed off to work, but then that is both our curse still.
I wandered through the rooms again and again, ignoring the people who were criticising the artist and her work despite their own complete lack of experience or feeling, and often despite the fact that the artist wasn't anywhere near them. How anyone could try and think about the works with any degree of objectivity was beyond me. I would stand in front of a rich and emotional canvas and before I could even finish trying to work out what the name of the particular painting was I would already be caught by it's passionate expression of something that touched me deep, deep inside.
In between paintings I would try and catch glimpses of the artist. She was generally surrounded, and accosted, by the inevitable journalists and art groupies who make these sort of openings their main parading ground. She was much too irritated by the nerve of the people who would try and understand her personal works however, for the opening night glitzerati to be able to pin her down for even a few minutes of hollow conversation. I was ashamed of my longing, but I had to try and talk to her as well. Her paintings resonated in me, and I couldn't let myself go home without trying to find out why.
"Excuse me, but I wanted to tell you that I find your works absolutely fantastic."
"Thank you." (go away)
"Please, you've opened some emotional gates in me that I didn't know were there. Do you think we could get together and talk sometime?"
"No, I'm sorry. I don't talk about my art."
"Then maybe we could talk about something else. Anything else."
...but she was already gone again, caught up by her agent and someone with a blank wall and a not so blank wallet.