Inspiring Awe: An Arting Conversation

In this conversation, Ruth and Shari discuss the role of art in inspiring awe. To us, experiencing awe is critical component of being human, one we need to nurture. We are happy to share the full conversation here. Scroll below the video for an image of each pairing, and a set of questions we’d love to engage with you on. Answer them in the comments or just use the questions to have a conversation with someone. The poem we used to complement our discussion is The Ponds by Mary Oliver.

Questions

1. What dazzles you?
2. How do these pictures make you feel?
3. By looking at these two works side by side, what does it tell you about nature, our relationship to nature and awe?

Questions

1. What does cast aside the weight of facts mean to you? How is or isn’t that supported by Kusama’s art?
2. How do you interpret “to float a little above a difficult world”? How is or isn’t that supported by this art?

Questions

1. What does art teach us about imperfection?
2. What does looking at these two very different pieces of art suggest about awe?

Thanks for joining us. Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear any thoughts you have on awe, the art, the poem or Arting.