Art Appreciation is an ongoing collection of photographs exploring the relationship between people and art.

I did not grow up surrounded by art. I am from a small town in rural Illinois, where my introduction to the creative world came through a high school class called Commercial Art. Looking back, it was a surprisingly progressive course for the time and place. It sparked a curiosity that eventually led me to begin driving myself to Chicago at sixteen years old to visit museums and galleries.

Over the years, as I spent more time in museums around the world, I became just as interested in the visitors as the artwork itself. I found myself observing how people engage with art—how long they linger, how closely they look, how they position themselves in a room, and what their body language reveals. Without hearing a single word, I began imagining their stories, personalities, and connections - or lack thereof - to the work in front of them.

These photographs are less about the art on the walls and more about the quiet, human experience of looking. They explore curiosity, contemplation, distraction, wonder, and the many ways we connect with visual culture.

These photographs are less about the art on the walls and more about the people standing in front of it. I am interested in the many ways we engage with art and what those interactions reveal about us.

Are you here seeking a quiet, meditative experience? Are you documenting your visit through a phone screen? Are you checking a famous museum off a travel itinerary? Were you dragged here by a friend, partner, or school group? Do you stop and look, or simply pass through?

There is no right way to experience art. Yet in the subtle gestures, expressions, and behaviors of museum visitors, I find an endless source of curiosity. This work invites viewers to consider not only the art being observed, but the people doing the observing—and perhaps, their own place among them.