The Whole Ball of Wax Response

In Jerry Saltz's article, in the first couple sentences he mentions two curators whom make a bold statement of "art has the ability to change the world". After reading this article, I couldn't help, but agree. While reading this it took me back to a time when I was taking an art history class in high school. Our first class period, my teacher asked us what we associate art with. We went around the room and the similar answers came about, such as "paintings, museums, sculptures, etc." Then my teacher approached a desk, knocked on it and asked, "Now, is this a piece of art?" No one is my class rose their hand except for me. She asked me why I rose my hand and I said "Because anything can be art."
Art can be a simple desk, a song, a painting, a poem etc. and all these things have the ability to change the world in small or big ways. Saltz addresses the fact that art may not be able to change global warming or cure a disease, but it does change the way humans think and perceive the world around them. "Art is not optional; it is necessary. It is part of the whole ball of wax." When he says "whole ball of wax", I think he's referring to the human brain and how art is necessary for our brain development and thought processing because art makes us think and it has the ability to evoke different emotions. As mentioned, art is about experience, not about understanding. Imagine listening to a song for the first time. Some people may hate it, others may love it. Then imagine listening to that same song for the tenth time. The experience could be completely different compared to listening to it the first time. The same goes for looking at a painting or rewatching a show. People will begin to notice things they had not before and therefore the experience is different. This is what Saltz means by, art is an experience.
As Saltz finishes his article, he uses an analogy with a cat and a dog. He describes someone calling over a dog versus a cat. When calling over the dog, the dog obeys and sits in the person's lap. This is a direct communication between person and dog. When calling over a cat, the cat may walk over, make glances at the person and that's about it. This is an indirect communication between person and cat. Saltz's last line, "In short, art is a cat." is very much true. Like cats, art is very questionable and confusing, but it can be lovable and fun. Art is a combination of contradictions because everyone's experience with art is different.