The Scream at MoMA

Almost cartoonish in person, Edvard Munch's Scream nevertheless expresses a primordial horror. We went to see this painting at MoMA because it expresses what we're feeling. Someone we love is going through a difficult time right now --- someone vivid and strong, with many fans and friends, someone who loyally reads this blog, or at least looks at the photos --- and we have no words of comfort for him, for our family, or for each other.   
 
Nearby is a gallery devoted to Monet's paintings of water lilies. Like Munch, Monet produced variations of the same image. Whereas Monet saw art as a balm for the troubles of modern life, Munch saw art as a depiction thereof. Sometimes art soothes, but sometimes it simply mirrors, depicting the unsayable, screaming the unexpressible.