'An artefact is a fragment of world alteration'. In an effort to change the way people view works of art, Ivan Gaskell - curator and lecturer at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard - opens up a discussion of one 17th century painting by Vermeer, suggesting how art conveys complex ideas via purely visual, non-linguistic means. He also describes the interface between fine art and photographic reproductions, the relationship between art and museums and proposes that museums serve a therapeutic function.