Robert Beckmann - Body of a House

I'm in the Denver airport killing time before my flight to Reno. I just had some very uninspired pizza from Pizza Hut. Ray's Pizza it is not. It was largely an uneventful flight. Now, I don't want you to get jealous, but instead of The Jane Austen Book Club, which was suppose to air, we got to watch Rush Hour not 1, not 2, but 3! It went down great with a soda and mini pretzels. I slept through 95% of it. But I'm assuming the best part of the film was the credits anyway. And what's up with the show Monk? It seems like every flight I've been on in the last 2 years on features the entire season in full.

Usually I don't say much to my seat-mates. I always offer a hello and am happy to chat if that person takes the lead. Otherwise, I tend to assume they want to be left alone. But saying 'hi' is important. It establishes a precident. What if you're first to evacuate? Do you want to just blurt out "I hope we don't die!" Or what if the first thing you say is "Can you move so I can go to the bathroom?" It's just good airline manners to greet the person you're sitting with.

So after saying hi, my seat-mate made small talk which lead to a fascinating conversation about art. His name is Robert Beckmann, an accomplished painter and muralist, with his work Body of a House permanently displayed in the Nevada Museum of Art. I'm looking forward to seeing it on my press tour and putting a name to the painting. Body of a House depicts the rapid disintegration of a house on a nuclear test site and encompasses 8 large canvases. He's lived in and visited dozens of places that would make any seasoned traveler green with jealousy.

I never considered how much a professional artist would have to travel between artist in residencies, commissioned work, and tours. And I left the flight wondering about the connection between travel and passion. I wonder how different that kind of intimate traveling is compared to my own. Makes me wish I traveled more for just the sake of travel. I've often wondered if travel means more to the person who is evoking his/her creativity and spirit into the experience. Does going on a press trip where I'm being shown attractions and sites to slant my view on the area mean as much as someone who goes for self-discovery and exploration? Or does my passion for travel and writing make up for the fact that it is in fact an organized press trip? Is work just work no matter where you are?

Where does Traveling With Meaning fit into the travel industry?