Art

This article makes some interesting points on appreciating art. I agree that art enriches our lives . . . if we allow it to. But - and the article attempts to tackle this - what is art? It seems clear we can all recognize the beauty of the GREAT works - the Sistine Chapel, the Mona Lisa, Starry Night, and so on.

But what about art that is modern or controversial?

Here, I think, personal opinion weighs in. But personal opinion is subjective. We chose to hang art (well, art as we see it) on our walls. Some choose to hang animal heads, Terry Redland's works, or - in a most grotesque case - camouflage on the furniture (I'm not kidding about that one folks!).

How can you differentiate art for ART or crap (camouflage)?

The article isn't much help. They suggest viewing a lot of great art and developing a 'mature eye.' What exactly is a 'mature eye'? They also - and this seems almost absurd to me - that we trust the artist or the gallery. If they say it's art, then it's art. I don't buy that. I don't call a girl who might be pregnant splattering blood from her womb across a canvas art, yet that is what one college student tried pulling off a few years ago. How about the artist who tied a dog up and let it starve to death and tried to pass that off as art?

I call both of those acts of horror - not art.

So what is art, then?

Something that enriches our lives, obviously. But how can you recognize it?

Personally, I break it down like this -

First, it has to be aesthetically pleasing. Something about it must catch my eye and make it return to the piece.

Second, it must be interesting. Something about the painting, sculpture, or photograph must invite me in. There must be something there to figure out or explore.

Third, it must look either incredibly difficult (as in the Sistine Chapel) or incredibly easy (in any Bob Ross painting). With art, the trick is to make the difficult look easy. This is true across disciplines. When Hemingway, to use an example from literature, wrote what is reputed to be the shortest short story ever written - "For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn." those six words seem easy enough. But when you think about and try to do it yourself, then you see how difficult art really is.

Fourth, it can stand interpretation and analysis. It can be appreciated without commentary or it can stand the test of being put under the microscope and really analyzed. (An interesting note - during the history class last week, we were put into groups to analyze various articles and in one instance poems. One teacher complained about having to analyze poems. She claimed that either let the author tell us what they meant or don't even bother examining the work. I think this is the left overs from having one of those teachers where they hold their interpretation up as the only one and make analyzing poems seem like a mystery or scavenger hunt worthy of Dan Brown. That is not true at all. Art can hold various interpretations. Or none at all. It can just be enjoyed. And for her claim about asking the author - sometimes that is the last thing you want. How much subconsciously went into the work that the author isn't even aware? Don't discount this. This happened to me. When I wrote my thesis, I never was aware of certain images that were repeated again and again - especially at key points in my memoir. I was not aware of this until one of the professors on my defense panel brought it to my attention. I had never realized it, but once I did, it opened up a whole new layer of depth to my work).


Finally, it has to linger. That is, it has to leave some worthwhile impression. I can still see the camouflage upholstery, but that is out of horror - not beauty.

Here are some works that I classify as great art.

From Dusk like Candlesticks Light my path till Dawn by Timothy Sorsdahl



Rothko's Number 51 Rust and Blue



Piet Mondrian Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow




Crescent Moon by Montague Dawson



Anything by Rockwell



The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai



Dali's famous Persistence of Time




And, of course, my favorite, Roy Lichtenstein