I had an appreciation for an art appreciation prof.
Call it a crush if you must. But I have never had perfect attendance in any course I took in college, except for hers. I appreciated art, too, but I appreciated how she delivered it. And, you know, her.
Anyway, why fuss over the details?
I used to go to all the Saturday extra-credit visits she’d set up at the local museums. All the other boys were there, too. Some girls, too. But through all the haziness, the experience also enhanced my love of art, of all forms.
Not just those billowy hippie skirts, those tight blond curls or stately glasses she’d push up back on her nose with her index finger.
This post is inspired by the book 300 Writing Prompts. I picked this one on my own, and the choice was pretty easy! Much as I appreciate a good Monet or even an Emeril masterpiece, Beethoven’s where it’s at.
Whatis your favorite work of art? What do you love about it?
My favorite work of art is Beethoven’s ninth symphony.
Especially the final movement. It has always been an inspiration. This is the one man-made entity I consider flawless. This was his finale, the lasting legacy of his work. And it’s incredible to know he was almost deaf when he created it.
It feels to me as if it’s the culmination of everything he learned in his life and in music.
It’s a joyous experience to hear it, and I’d listened to it every day for a while. Portions are serene; some playful. Most of it is majestic. It feels majestic, but also a grand finale. In the midst of joy and celebration, there is this moment of realization …
that the end is near.
It reminds me of my mortality. It makes me think of moments I accepted my dad would not survive his fight with leukemia – but realized he had prepared himself spiritually to that end. I took great comfort in that.
This work has all the feels – but in the end, it’s a celebration. I love it, and I can only hope to have a fraction of a legacy such as this.
What about you? What’s your pick for the greatest work of art ever?
What are your thoughts on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?
-30-
Just a dad ... 
It’s a painting, and i’ve only seen a copy. The copy is unsigned, it hangs in a client’s home. The Good Shepherd, clinging to a cliff face, is reaching down to rescue His lost sheep. This one is very close: https://reginaquinn10.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/img_5288.png
That is powerful, Mimi. The effort, the impending danger, the innocence of the lamb. Great choice.
The art I was exposed to the most growing up was classical music because my mother was a classical violinist. She dragged, I mean exposed us to all sorts of performances from small quartets to symphony orchestras and musicals. Picking up the violin myself beginning at age 8, I have a fondness for Vivaldi and I also love Bach’s organ music (Dad played the organ every now and then). I still remember sitting up in the choir loft at church, sitting right next to the pipe organ’s pipes: the lowest notes were actually very tall wooden boxes with a hole at the bottom where the sound came out. Feeling the vibration from the lower notes was transcendent. So, one of my absolute favorite works of art would have to be Virgil Fox playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
What wonderful exposure early in your life, Susan. My dad’s music tastes rubbed off on me, too, and I wonder what mine will do for my girls. I love when I can listen to classical music often enough to identify pieces I’ve never heard by the composer’s style.
Oddly enough, I struggle so much with writing prompts. You’d think it would make writing incredibly easy, being handed a specific topic, but I really need to come up with something on my own otherwise I don’t feel like I have any kind of direction.
Writing prompts kind of put us on the spot, don’t they? Maybe if we listed our own writing prompts, and could pick one from there, it’d be easier.
i love the art of andy goldsworthy. he builds outside using nature, photographs it and lets it go back to nature.
He’s like an artist spider, Beth. I just checked him out. I was especially taken by a simple stone structure he made that was shaped like an egg. So natural to see in its habitat.
Beethoven’s 9th is truly a masterpiece. And it goes through all the spectrum of emotions. Truly inspiring.
Glad you see it that way, too. It was revolutionary for its time and also a bit of a miracle, given his hearing loss.
Ooh nice answer. Honestly, I don’t know what my favorite work of art would be! It’s a tough question, especially with all the different mediums art comes in.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
I think you should be allowed to have one in every category!