"The first demand any work of any art makes upon us is.."

"The first demand any work of any art makes upon us is

Painting by Mark DeRaud

surrender.
Look.
Listen.
Receive.
Get yourself out of the way.

(There is no good asking first whether the work before you deserves such a surrender,
for until you have surrendered you cannot possibly find out.)"
-C.S. Lewis, "An Experiment in Criticism"  (context)