Houston art expert hosts Instagram art lessons that draw a crowd

Art consultant Illa Gaunt hosts weekly Sunday art lessons on her popular Instagram account, @_ig_art. Here, she poses in front of a photograph by Chuck Ramirez. Photo: Jenny Antill PhotographyIlla Gaunt understands that the art world can be intimidating. There’s so much to learn — the key players, the various movements and the terminology. It’s a lot for younger generations to process, which is why Gaunt hosts weekly art history lessons on Instagram: Because if you post it, millennials will come. Her 13,000 and counting followers (@_ig_art) wake up every Sunday morning to a new curriculum-style Instagram story. Sometimes the subject is a person, such as Robert Indiana, the preeminent artist whose best-known work was the word “LOVE” arranged in a square with a tilted letter “O.” Other times it’s topical, like art at the White House. “That one was shared a lot because of this tumultuous time in our history,” Gaunt says. “It was something uplifting. And bipartisan.” The topics vary, though the timing and approach are consistent. “It’s easy to digest for someone who might not know much about art history,” she explains. “People are drawn to the fact that there’s much story behind an image. Sometimes that…
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