At first the visitors spoke about the paintings... but just 20 minutes later, the paintings were remembering the visitors. Perhaps. How long do we remember paintings. How much do they become full members of our visual memory. How does it influence our collective visual memory that some of the paintings we get to see in our lifetime are the same that shaped the visual memories of generations before us and will shape the visual memories of generations after us. How fascinating to imagine pieces of art as time traveling members of the family... Damien Hirst’s shark did not look his youngest last time I saw him...
The 1000 oaks grow towards an even more powerful image... The Redon paintings are hiding in the shadows... and Cardinal Richelieu?... and Philippe de Champaigne?... Paris or London?... hmm... Maybe it is not just about time...
My earliest memories of going to a large art museum and seeing incredible paintings from long ago , was a combination of awe and respect. When was the las time you heard a compositon of music like Beethoven's Ninth symphony? Art nowadays does not have the same "mana". And no one is going to BS me to the contrary.