Peter Schjeldahl had the unique position of speaking at an art school as an art critic. He is an art critic for the New Yorker and has worked as an art critic there since 1998. Schjeldahl said he believes that his writing, and all art, is supposed to enhance life just a little between the cradle and the grave. His talk was a little all over the place, but so much of it was also very profound. Something he said about his profession was that "art criticism should be an ongoing open discussion of our aesthetic experience". I had never thought about art criticism that way before and I don't think I will be able to think of it the same way again. Another thing that struck me was when he said that art doesn't cure cancer, it doesn't really change anything, it just makes life a little more bearable; that maybe you see a piece of art that moves you and you think "maybe I'll go on living another day". There was so much inspiration, and good material in this talk that I couldn't write it all down, his view of art was wonderful and I feel very privileged I got to hear him speak about it. I hope that I can one day say anything half as profound as everything in this talk.
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