Sunday, April 7, 2013

Art and Whatnot

This is my first blog post, ever. I've been wanting to start blogging for a long time, but I wasn't sure what I would say. I'm still not entirely sure what I want to write about here- I'm just going to write as the ideas come to me. This has been floating around in my brain for a couple of days:

I went to MoMA one day last week; "The Maybe" wasn't there, but it was still an interesting trip.
I've been thinking a lot about the purpose of art,and going to the museum helped me to answer some of my questions. Does art have value if it's only meaningful to a handful of people? Does art have to "mean" anything, or is it just enough for it to be aesthetically pleasing?

Walking through the museum, I found myself interested in different works of art for different reasons. I liked a photograph because it provided a window into another time, and enjoyed another photo simply because it made me do a double-take. There was a photograph I would've passed by without much thought, if I hadn't read the sign on the wall and understood the artist's vision. There's a sculpture that I liked for its surprising medium, and there were paintings I could've stared at all day, even though they're fairly basic in composition.

To me, it isn't an artist's technical skill that makes them talented, but just that they have created something that can speak to someone else.

Going to the art museum, like so many other events in my life, forced me to confront a truism and realize its worth. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is one of those statements that, even though it's a cliche, isn't wrong, and I think that value, meaning, or worth are all in the eye of the beholder, as well. I don't think it's right to dismiss art that you don't understand; even if it seems devoid of worth to you, someone else might see something within it that you don't. Another thing- you're not "dumb", and your problem isn't that you "don't understand art"- your problem is that you're staring so hard at something you can't connect with that you're missing out on all of the art that might speak to you.

I like to take my time in art museums*- I stroll and then stop, trying to absorb every bit of a piece that has drawn me in. In contrast, if nothing in a room appeals to me, I can breeze right on through. I don't think this means that I'll miss anything- I'll come back when I'm ready, when I'm interested. I'm slighting neither painter nor painting by doing this; there is always someone standing just in front of a work of art, contemplating it or even photographing it. The way I see it, there's a painting for everyone, and there's someone for every painting.

* (I can hear my friends and family laughing now- I really like to take my time pretty much everywhere.)

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