If This Keyboardist's Fierce Facial Expressions Aren't Art, I Don't Know What Is

As someone who writes about art on a daily basis, my thoughts often circle back to a few simple, critical questions: What is art? What is beauty? Can such things ever be known? For years, I had thought the answer to the latter question would be “no,” and that each of us would forever be forced to navigate a labyrinth of subjective categorizations and fallible distinctions.

And. Then. I. Saw. This.

A video of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps’ recent performance of a show dubbed “Quixotic” zooms in on the pit keyboard player, a human embodiment of ferocity, intensity and savage beauty. As the music builds, she rolls out a series of fierce facial expressions as if she were a ruthless dictator watching over the decline of her kingdom with an unutterable mixture of horror and awe.

The video, uploaded to Facebook on July 6, has racked up over 2 million views in the past week. And for good reason. This is no meager pit keyboardist, as is clearly evidenced by the fire in her eyes and sharp angles in her brow. This is beauty, unadulterated and true. This is art.

H/t Jezebel