RE: Sour Pressure - Inktober days 9 and 11

But in a face to face conversation it's vital to know when to listen quietly, when to listen actively

So true, and as you brilliantly linked this to the speech between "art" and "artist" I think you have hit on something interesting here. When should the artist and viewer of an artwork "listen" to said artwork and when should they "reply"? Albeit that we place the artwork on a pedestal, I think that art has something to say beyond that of what the artist intended, but now I wonder how much and when we should respond to that artwork and when we should merely listen.

And then I crawl back to my bubble that I've made comfy and cozy for me

This will be the hallmark of our society. And who can blame us? I think back to something about the Ancient Greek schooling system I read. I am not 100% if (i) the information is accurate, and (ii) if I remember correctly, so do not quote me on this: the ancient's spent their formation years studying rhetoric and logic as the way in which you (i) present yourself/your argument and (ii) how you argued for said argument was more important than understanding mathematics. Or, understanding math and physics were important only after you mastered dialectics and the art of talking, presenting yourself or your argument. What I am leading to: we as the modern scientific society in some sense turned this around. We emphasize physics and math and neglect how we present these things. This obviously leads to schools also neglecting dialectics and how we use language and present arguments. And with everyone being able to voice an opinion on social media platforms today, emphasis is again on what you say rather than how you say it. Or something like that. Maybe I am making no sense at all!

It is given to the spectator and the spectator has a huge role in the conversation with the art.

And here we are again talking about the art and the role of the spectator. I think it fits perfectly in this reply. I will "synthesize" my first and second paragraphs into this third paragraph to respond to this line you presented. Maybe we as a society have neglected our vocabulary to respond to art or to play that role essential role in the conversation. I have ranted in a post on this idea, and I always talk to others about this, but the schools (in South Africa, as this is where I am located) focus so much on "parroting" work rather than understanding work that we are producing people who can remember facts detached from understanding. Or simply put, people are mindless fact machines rather than people characterized by conscious thinking, understanding, and wisdom. I know that this is hovering on wishful thinking, but I see it in my field (philosophy at university). People are struggling to think for themselves and to think period. Linking this back to art: I think people do not have the necessary vocab to engage with art as there is an essential piece of the puzzle missing.

how I feel and what I remember reading

No, please no preparation! It is all about feeling and responding to those feelings. I just like reading and my "to read" list is so long. There are various books on art and how we perceive the world that I want to read. So it was more a declaration from my side than a prescription haha. Sorry for taking so long to reply, I was not in the right headspace the weekend.