Art history courses teach you to examine art with your mind; every bit of canvas can be subject to analysis and criticism. An upbringing in the social media age teaches you to look at art with the eyes of everyone but yourself. Which colors will look good with what filter? What part of the exhibit should I story?

Art too often becomes something to be consumed—either by Instagram feeds or analysis. By this logic, I had already “consumed” the Water Lilies . But meditation foregrounded the experiential part of viewing art. Monet’s work became not the masterpiece it’s been branded and idolized as, but a mere assemblage of pigments dancing across a canvas.... See more