Is Art Important to Myth?

Art is the perfect mythical conversation. One person expresses an idea in metaphor and image, another views it, interpreting the symbols in their own way. The message that the artist originally intended may be completely different from what the viewer perceives, yet there is dialogue nonetheless; a creative dialogue of imagination and meaning that develops over time. There is intrinsic value in each part of the conversation. The formulation of an idea, the creation of the work in physical form, the viewing of that work, and the decoding of its meaning for the viewer, all help to translate the ephemeral into the physical world. This is the conversation of myth.

—Michael Karlin

Pictured above, the work of Jean-Leon Gerome, French artist, 1824-1904.
Pygmalion and Galatea
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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