"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see"

Art transcends the simple act of observation, reaching far beyond the artist’s personal perception. It becomes a medium through which the creator influences, guides, and even challenges the viewer’s way of seeing the world. When Edgar Degas writes that art is about what you make others see, he points to the transformative power housed in expression and interpretation. The true power of art lies in its capacity to evoke feelings, provoke thought, and offer new perspectives, shaping what others perceive, feel, and understand.

An artist does not merely replicate the external world or even their inner visions; instead, the process involves selecting, emphasizing, and sometimes abstracting the elements that will communicate their intended message or emotion. Through the arrangement of forms, the choice of colors, the use of symbolism or abstraction, they are able to move the viewer from passive looking to active engagement, sparking curiosity or recognition in ways that often surpass direct communication.

This approach recognizes that perception is subjective. Each viewer arrives before a work carrying their own experiences, biases, and contexts, but the artist has the ability to direct attention, challenges assumptions, or nurture empathy, opening doors to fresh understanding. Masterpieces have the enduring impact they do not simply because of technical skill, but because they awaken something in the observer, leading them to experience the world anew, to see what they never noticed before.

The interplay between artist and observer is thus central, with art acting as a kind of bridge or invitation. By guiding the gaze of others, be it toward beauty, pain, truth, or absurdity, the creator fulfills a crucial role: transforming individual vision into collective experience. In inspiring others to see differently, art extends its reach beyond the canvas, shaping not just what is seen, but how it is seen.