Another day, another art piece on my mind. This one is not terribly famous, but its a favorite none the less. Made in 1907 by Henry Ossawa Tanner the painting is called, “The Disciples See Christ Walking On Water” and it depicts… you guessed it, the disciples seeing Christ walking on water. But the painting has very little grandeur for such a pivotal an event. The monochrome blue of the painting lends a bleakness to the painting that brings to me a feeling of aulasy (yes, I had to go looking for this word to describe what I was feeling, and yes the word is made up, but so are all words). That is what I take away from the painting at least, this feeling of realizing that great events can never be expressed in their fullness to those who didn’t experience them.
Now I’m not saying that this REU is in any way as amazing a moment as seeing Christ walk on water, but the feeling here is the same. We were told that these blogs were twofold in use, one to help us remember what happened during our time here, but also to help future REU students get a sense of what it could be like here for them. So, if you’re from the future and you’ve stumbled upon this blog and are considering this program, be aware that, though we try, we can’t give a full idea of what it’s really like. We’re just out here using our words to paint incomplete pictures of events no one else will feel as deeply as we do.