Nathan Langston

There are countless reasons for art but there are two to which I return, over and over. The first is that there is an infinity to know. I’ll never run out of new things to learn and experience, which means that the unknown is always the same size. The unknown will be as measureless when I die as it was when I was born, even if I study perpetually. And discovery is a joy! But in the end, the unknown is still there. I can be afraid of it, ignore it, or try to relate to it. This is why I like art. Art dances with the unknown, sings to it, fights with it, woos it, invokes it, and tries to make peace with what we don’t understand.

The other point is that art is redemptive. Pain, misery, loneliness, loss – these can be turned into astonishingly beautiful works. Art can illuminate worth even in the face of abomination. At its most valuable, art can look horror straight in the eye and still say, “this living is worth it.â€

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