Why should the artist bother with his or her toil? Why should the artist suffer? The artist will often encounter financial unsuccess or never live to enjoy appreciation, respect, or veneration of his or her output. What’s the point of pursuing art?

As we have seen, the artist works, on some level, because he or she is driven, is compelled, is called to work. As Aristotle notes the good effect of art on one’s health and as Paleotti expounds on the purpose of art to save souls, we see the artist benefits not necessarily in financial success but in giving something that people need, that their soul needs. Art touches and stirs and moves and, therefore, is capable of so much more than meets the eye.

Cather depicted Thea transfixed before Breton’s “The Song of the Lark” in the Art Institute. Sometimes, life imitates art, taking it to the next level. Please enjoy this short interview with actor Bill Murray who expresses the effect of a particular painting by which he found himself transfixed.https://youtu.be/8eOIcWB7jSA

I love the way this short interview brings so much in this seminar together: our beloved Chicago, artists affecting artists, the struggling and suffering artist, The Song of the Lark, the power of the work artists do.

As you reflect on Murray’s experience with this painting, can you recall a specific piece of art with which you have a particularly strong relationship? For this week’s first post, please express a strong effect a piece of art, an oeuvre or an opus, has had on you. It may not have been life-saving as it was for Murray, but perhaps it was life-changing, soul-stirring, revelatory, or enlightening on a level you did not expect. While your answer will certainly be personal, please don’t share anything too private; however, do express your significant encounter with a specific work of art, the effect it had on you, and the possible reasons for such an effect.