Unexpected people can reveal deep artistic perception given the right trigger

Evidence

I once made a long automobile trip with a businessman. We had been on the road only a few hours when I came to the sour conclusion that the adventure was a mistake for both of us. Either he was prosaically dull or I was intellectually a bore, or both. I could elicit nothing but sodden commonplaces from him. It was developing into a mobile nightmare. But we finally came to western New England—the Berkshire Hills—and it was springtime. My companion had never been that far east before. He suddenly stopped the car on a hillside and sat for a moment looking at thewhite birches, with greening leaves. Then he said, “Look! Those trees seem to be all racing down the hill towash their feet in the creek.” And, reacting to his poetic impression, I began to see exactly what he saw. Out of this humdrum John had popped something as lovely as an old Greek myth. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 243

Categorization

• XREF: A vivid illustration that anyone can perceive poetically — the birches ‘racing down the hill to wash their feet’ is a nature-interpretation anecdote usable in teaching the six-principles beyond nature centers. — connects to: Interpretation is an art that draws on science, not a science — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 234; Expert interpreters must cultivate humility toward non-expert visitors — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 329; Any moment that attracts attention can be reframed as an art experience — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 372 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Any moment that attracts attention can be reframed as an art experience #expands (0.85) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 372
• Everyday moments of attention can be framed and shared as art experiences #expands (0.82) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 372