Shouldn't surprise me, but it does.

As a longtime Washington, DC Metro commuter (more than a decade), I shouldn't find this story about music, commuters, and the nature of public art surprising. But I confess I do.

Short summary: the Washington Post engaged world-famous violinist Joshua Bell to play as a street musician during morning and evening rush hours at L'Enfant Plaza metro a few weeks back, and observed whether anyone recognized his quality or, indeed, paid him any attention at all. The story is extraordinarily well written, to start with. And its content is fascinating, with many implications for those of us who fancy ourselves artists of one kind or another. Anyway, worth a read.