FFfAW — Eye of the Beholder

The two friends were heading toward Columbus Circle. As they walked by one of the buildings along the busy boulevard, Susan suddenly stopped short. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed. “What the hell is that?”

Craig followed her gaze to see what it was that she was looking at. He stared at the sculpture for a few minutes before declaring, “It’s a work of art.”

“It’s monstrous,” Susan said in disgust. “How can you call that thing ‘art’? It makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

“The purpose of art is to communicate ideas and to generate strong emotions. It’s intended to elicit a response, which is exactly what it did with you.”

“It’s totally gross,” Susan said.

“You don’t have to like the artist’s work to appreciate the art.”

“Isn’t there enough violence without creating ‘art’ to celebrate it? I’m going home.” Susan turned around and started walking away.

Craig called out, “It generated strong emotions. That makes it art!”

(160 words)

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Written for this week’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers prompt from Priceless Joy. Photo credit: Jade M. Wong