Psychiatric care was the most influential (and free) course I took during my two years at CalArts. Therapy enabled a confrontation with vulnerability for me in ways that art could not. Admitting to a secret personal language, complete with the code of one’s own history, sometimes gets blanketed under the heavy-handed wraps of jargon, while easier-to-swallow categorizations place the work in the comfortable context that “professionals” have provided for us. The vacuum is nearly impossible to punch a hole in, so art begets art, art talks about art, art critiques art. Paths of resistance may lead to acceptance and possibly a truth. All contend for communicative window display. Truth is personal and telling. The witnessing of (my) (your) truth in objects and pictures relies on vulnerability. It takes sensitive consideration not just of art’s history or what a painting “is,” but also of empathy and reflection on what it means to be a human.