Art Resonance

The poetry that I like resonates with me internally. That word "resonate", crystallizes the ineffable effect art can have on me. It's that "it just feels right" feeling when you see a painting, photograph, sculpture, or hear a poem, prose passage, or music that hits you in your gut. It is particularly strange and noticeable when the image or sound seems to bypass your intellect. When the effect is something other than the meaning of the words, lyrics, or specific content of the image. It is an appreciation of the abstract.


For me, art complements moods. I am more likely to like a particular kind of art depending on my general mood at the time and the environment that I am in. I select music to reflect my mood or sometimes the music I hear can change my mood. I may want to see and hear different types of things depending on whether I am outdoors or indoors; whether I am at work or a party; whether it is dinner or breakfast; etc.


I've read about the acquisition of language and music in the brains of infants and how it can lay down neural patterns reflective of the culture and environment around us. I've always felt that my appreciation of the cadence of Robert Frost's poetry was due to my New England upbringing.