How to Look at Art

Much energy, effort, and tuition money is spent studying art. Works are preserved, interpreted, and categorized. Theories are formed about themes and motives of artists and their respective movements. Words are layered excessively in an attempt at understanding why a piece of art was made, how a person came to make it, and what it means in the context of art history. The comics I've created for this 10-part series are no exception. All of this academic and curatorial sweat is poured out for a noble purpose. But sometimes it misses the point.

Art is there to be experienced. It can inspire wonder, provoke strong emotions, and alter perception. It is meant to be loved, despised, or puzzled over, but never politely ignored. Go to a museum, a gallery, a sculpture garden, a public space. Look at art. Experience art. Make art.

This comic features sculptures (note — not all are drawn to scale) by the following artists: Auguste Rodin, Fernando Botero, Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, Max Ernst, Émile-Antoine Bourdelle, Barbara Hepworth, Isamu Noguchi, and Jean (Hans) Arp.