Seeing through Different Eyes

Well, I've been to NYC before. About twelve years ago now. But our recent trip was to say the least amazing. Jody and I were invited to exhibit at the Chashama Gallery in Manhattan with a group of artists. This made the trip especially exciting and heightened our expectations of the trip.

We arrived Thursday afternoon. After reaching our hotel and getting to our room, we thought we would try the Chelsea galleries to see what was happening. Well, in a word...nothing. They all closed at 6 so, we decided to head to the Village. WOW. One the subway ride I began to fall in love with this unbelievable city. Everywhere my mind was filled with inspiration. Everywhere my eyes turned was another photograph.

The next morning, I awoke and looked out our 23rd story window. I at last understood why people were compelled to take cityscapes. The buildings created a landscape all their own. The light reflecting from the windows of one building onto another was a peculiar beauty I had never before seen.

We then ventured out and walked some 50 blocks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jody and I had been waiting at least nine years for this. Again, we had both seen original works of the masters before but not through the eyes of artists. We made our way to the Impressionists stopping along the way in a photography exhibit. A Latrec first caught my eye and as I moved toward the room, I saw one of the masters we had been so longing to see. Degas. I felt tears begin to well up as I stood before the strokes his pastel had made. Impressed by how strong the strokes were, not blended as they had always appeared to me in books. Each piece seemed more inpressive than the previous. Next came Monet. Jody and I were no longer able to contain our emotions. As tears filled our eyes, we sat surrounded by his beauty. At long last we were in his prescence. As we continued through the museum and through the med-evil and Egytpian and American painters, I was filled with a wonderful sense of humility. Here we were surrounded by these magnificent works of beauty created by ordinary people just like me but with extraordiniary vision, sensitivity and talent. This feeling is one which I hope never fades.