Years ago, a guy I met in an elevator asked me
What determines the value of art?
I should mention that the elevator was in a building full of Chelsea art galleries, the guy was wearing a uniform from a delivery service, and my guess is he'd just happened by some piece of art that was selling for more than he made in a year.
Let's face it: art can seem intimidating to a lot of people.
So when I was asked to do a talk at Portland Art Museum, I picked a piece I really love. I thought about how to connect it to my writing. And then I set out to get the audience as excited as I was about it.
How would you describe what you see? I asked, as we stood before Marie Watt's mixed media sculpture. Here's what they told me.