I don’t really know how to write about art. I also find that I don’t always enjoy what is written about art. Like any form of review or critique, I find the actual critique to be more about the author’s ego that the item being reviewed. Reviews of art shows tell me how I should feel and what I should look for. I want to discover these things for myself. I sometimes enjoy a narration of a show, but only if it done by the artist themselves. When I do listen to these, however, I find I miss out on all the banter and conversation inside the gallery.

Tim and I have been fortunate to have seen some extraordinary art in the past month. We won’t tell you what to like or what to look for, we will only encourage you to check out the shows, if you can.

Tara Donovan at the ICA in Boston through January 4, 2009. Ms. Donovan uses everyday items, plastic cups, buttons, tape, drinking straws and creates stunning pieces of art with them. Tim and I went and were speechless at the beauty of some of these things we use day in and day out. None of pictures do her work justice, but these are the best I’ve seen so far.

William Eggleston at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City though January 25, 2009. Mr. Eggleston is credited with bringing color photography to the forefront of the craft. The show is exhaustive and chronicles the evolution of this work 1961 to the present. As notable as the photographs, was the energy at the Whitney. The Whitney is located in New York’s Upper East Side, Madison and 75th. It does not get more Upper East Side or more posh. Tim and I went on a Friday evening during the “pay what you wish” window. We were greeted with a crowd so diverse, so full of positive, fun energy that I remember wondering if we were actually in the right place. There was music downstairs, people standing around socializing in the lobby. There were elderly people, kids and people from all walks of life. There is an acceptance of others in NY that I witnessed that night and remember from living there. That feeling, is what museums should strive for. Art is not just about education and what is on the wall, it is about a public, shared experience. The Whitney has found a way to facilitate this and it is wonderful.

Elizabeth Peyton at the New Museum in New York City through January 11, 2009. Of the three shows, this was the least interesting for us. Ms. Peyton received an enormous amount of publicity for the show. There are some slides here. We were glad we went. I was most interested in the change of the Bowery as a street and New York City neighborhood.