The Heart of Art

"At the heart of every well-made work of art—no matter how dark or disturbing it may be—is an act of praise…beauty tends to call forth, or beget, more beauty. The beauty of a face, sunset, vase, or brushstroke evokes in the viewer an answering gesture: the desire to describe or reproduce that beauty in some fashion. In that responsive gesture is the essence of praise. Praise is a form of giving back, a way of doing justice by rendering to the world what it is due."

-Gregory Wolfe, Intruding upon the Timeless, pg. 139