Some of mine:
Van Gogh's "Starry Night" (Painting): There's a little town, peaceful and tranquil, made by human hands. Above the town are the gigantic swirling cosmic forces beyond our control or creation. It's like haiku, the very humble accomplishments of humanity pictured against the very grand forces of the cosmos. I never cease to find amazement in the way this finite painting captures the essense of something infinite.
Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" (Music): It's a strange mixture of forboding and beautiful harmony. It seems to take something seeminlgy horrible like revenge and turn it into a kind of force of nature. As natural as soil erosion, like a great storm that ravages the land and then in the second half the forces of destruction settle and behold; we have nature recovering from the cataclysm. It's interesting Wagner chose not to end this piece with the Valkyries wrath but with the aftermath.
The Music Group Len's "Steal My Sunshine" (Music Video): A fabulous protrayal group of youths just having fun, frolicking in sun. It really makes me feel optimistic about the younger generation, that they have a grasp of their time on this earth even better than the one I had in my youth.
Raphael's "The School of Athens" (Painting): It has a certain nostalgic beauty about it. Looking at it I get the feeling that I am truly in the presence of great individuals who transcend the barrier of time. It seems to reflect the very essence of what made the Ancient Greeks such a great culture.
Camile Saint Saen's "Danse Macabre" (Music): The sun goes down and all the lost souls awaken and begin their ghoulish ritual. Sort of a testament to when the going get's strange the strange take over! In another light (no pun instended) it's almost like the other side of us, the dark and suppressed side get's to play and bask in the light (the moonlight in this case). In a sense everyone gets their time to play on earth. It's like a kind of justice for the wicked.
I could go on and on and probably will occasionally when I revisit this thread. These are just some of my all time favorites and no where near a comprehensive list. What are some of your favorite works of art and what about them enchants you?
