Through Bee's Eyes

Rendered in rich earth tones, with thick applications of graphite and chalk, Yuan Chen’s Through Bee's Eyes is an exercise in perception. There are many pithy and clever ways to define art, sweeping claims about its use or impact. Regardless of how well-worded or constructed, these claims always feel overly subjective and insufficient. However, one has always rung true to me and acts as an excellent barometer when evaluating the conceptual success of any given work of art. Tolstoy believed "Art is a means of communication." Tolstoy's assertion has always struck me as encapsulating arts’ most important job and the one that can push millions into either passivity or action.

We can read everything about another's struggles know all the statistics, but only art can give us some idea of what they feel like what the world looks like through their eyes. I'm going to return to this theme in future newsletters, but for now, I will leave you with the bees (and don't make the mistake of dismissing the importance of understanding a bee's world).