the art of the matter

someone once told me art is anything that is accused of being racist or sexist and in reality is neither of those. my father says art is the man who sings bridge over troubled water. and still others say it is what makes you (the viewer, the recipient, the guest) feel like you belong here, like you are not alone. but when I think of that eternal question (what is art?), I remember a poster I once saw; it claimed art is food. it is no coincidence, then, that an artichoke is entirely edible, even its heart and bracts. so make no mistake: art is an offering of life, of loneliness and companionship, of song and silence, as these are the shapes of the heart. go ahead and feast.