Cupped wire hands hold a glowing eye-shaped paper lantern with a luminous sphere at its centre.

Original artwork, not a still

Max Eastman

The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Artists, in this view, are defined by cherishing consciousness, meaning they treasure awareness itself: noticing, feeling, being present. The claim shifts the focus from making pretty things to valuing the experience of being awake to the world.

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