What Art can do.... lecture by Alain de Botton

"Sentimentality is an attachment to the good that refuses to countenance the bad. But an adult engagement with prettiness of course recognizes that it is an exception and an island in an otherwise dark world, and that 's why it gains value. So don't be embarrassed of pretty flowers and water lilies. That's what art can do. Art restores hope, and prettiness is an essential part of its mission."

(Alain de Botton) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFnNgTSkHPM