Albert Bierstadt and Mediation

Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, 1868

To mediate means "to bring about by serving as intermediary."  The experience of most things is mediated.  According to Kit White, "the majority of information that comes to us has been shaped, edited, and distorted...Primary experience often takes a backseat to multiple levels of intervention...and art is, itself, a form of mediation."  It is true that most of us are unable to experience firsthand all the things this world has to offer.  But is it a bad thing that experiences are mediated through art?  Not at all, for many of us cannot travel the world to see it's wonders, but through paintings like Bierstadt's (see picture), we are able to experience the beauty of nature, even though we may never travel to Nevada to see his inspiration.  Art, though it mediates experience, when viewing it can be an experience all in itself.  Enjoy!