That was something that I had to learn. I had been raised with the idea that all modern art was a scam but once I saw a few pieces in real life - some of them on huge canvases - I got the point. The photo process and shrinking them down to book size just didn't do them justice.

It isn't always that way, certainly. I can look at one modern piece and enjoy it then turn around and laugh at some piece of pretension that's in the same gallery.

I paint and I know a few artists. It's an interesting subculture, for sure.