These paintings remind me of René Magritte's work. I can't say that I have a favorite artist, but I really like the work of a lot of different ones. I've seen a lot of people who study math, science or engineering sneer at the education that people who choose to study the arts receive, but I consider myself fortunate that I was able to get the education I did at that age. Taking in great works at that age has gone a long way into shaping my understanding of who I am and who I want to be. I wouldn't say it's for everybody, but then again art doesn't affect everybody in the same way, or even at all. I really like: - Joan Miró - Piet Mondrian (or Mondriaan) - Francis Bacon - Marcel Duchamp - Panamarenko among others. What appeals to me about art is that it strives to present the relationship that man has with reality and how that changes. I think that this is an important reason to see the actual works in person to get the full effect. For example, flagamuffin mentioned Van Gogh. Most people are familiar with prints on posters or in art books, but the real Starry Night is thick with paint. In fact, Van Gogh's paintings were controversial, not only because of his style, but the method and techniques he used to achieve that style. There is so much paint on the canvas that what you see are not brush strokes at all. There are peaks, like when one pulls a whisk from properly whipped cream. In person you can really see how the light affects the painting and moving close to it has an entirely different effect than viewing it from a distance. Art is easily dismissed, especially by those who have cultivated no taste for it. The most basic of lessons art can teach us are about quality and craft. Yes, many of the techniques attributed as revolutionary in art are easily emulated, but we must remember that before these artists created them, the human universe was one without them. I'm sitting here, looking at my screen, the images composed of pixels. Without Pointillism, who knows how long the chain of events would have been that led to the method of this display's creation?