THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

As an art advisor and one who is passionate about art, I look forward to Kristine McKenna’s thoughtful articles concerning the art world. She brings a balance of intensity and sophistication to the honest, relaxed conversations with her subjects.

I was particularly taken with the article on Ed Ruscha and John Walsh (“Lightening Up the Getty,” May 24). Both came across as enthusiastic, down-to-earth and brilliant men from opposite ends of the spectrum.

Ruscha describes his monumental work of light at the J. Paul Getty Museum as reflecting the greatness of Muhammad Ali as well as the everyday ritual of Ruscha putting his socks on. This deeply personal but universal identifying statement gave me a lump in my throat, as I remembered my feelings when I first saw the piece earlier this year.

It is not by chance that Ruscha references the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio, who incorporated light in a natural and yet deeply symbolic manner. I was reminded of when I traveled to Italy in the early ‘70s as a young art student determined to see firsthand Caravaggio’s magical use of light and shadow in the extraordinary “Calling of St. Matthew.”

Well hidden in a dark corner of the church of S. Luigi dei Francesi in Milan, it lay in darkness until I put a coin in the metal box next to the painting. As the lights in the church came on for a brief minute or two, I was struck with the same overwhelming emotion that I felt when I saw Ruscha’s work. A miraculous light seemed to come from somewhere outside the painting, infusing a spiritual presence and sanctity into this Italian master’s greatest work.

Thirty years later, it is nice to feel that rare spark of being witness to something great.

JULIE CLINE

Newport Beach