The Value of Exposure to Art and Literature over the Long Term

Create | Bring into Being

Last week I wrote about the intertwining of my personal history with the history of photography during a week's span.  That particular week ended, serendipitously, with me visiting the Addison Gallery of American Art on the campus of Phillips Academy, in Andover, Mass.

Trees and Sky

I emerged to a sumptuous afternoon, the campus ablaze in greens and blues, cross country runners from a multitude of prep schools crossing the finish line yards from the gallery's front steps.

Motivation Unclear

My soul, body and spirit were full.  Full of inspiration from the art I had just seen.  Full of memories of attending Andover some thirty years ago, at that time using the Nikkormat camera I mentioned last week.

Light is Everything

I saw photographs everywhere and joyously shot in a range of styles.

Defining Bucolic

I realize it is not just about going to a museum once.  I do not recall my high school visits to the Addison Gallery as particularly illuminating.  Multiple exposures to art deepens appreciation over time.

I remember reading Ernest Hemingway in college and not understanding where my professor's richly textured interpretations came from.  As I read Mr. Hemingway's Islands in the Stream a few years ago, deep meaning, metaphor and great themes of the human condition sailed out from between the lines.

Tech Tips: Nikon D700, 24-70 mm, ISO 200.  Trees and Sky is an in-camera multiple exposure treated with Topaz Adjust, a plug-in for Photoshop.   Defining Bucolic is intentionally and specifically out of focus.  ©2010 John Nordell

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