Taking It All In

By Leena Prasad

 

 

 

 

Many years ago, I had an intense argument with my friend Sunil that art appreciation is not something that could be learned. He insisted that it could.  At the time, I was not ready to listen to what he was saying.

I hadn’t thought much about that argument until very recently as I walked around the art studio where I rent a small space for painting.  I saw a gigantic car part hanging on the wall as part of a ‘found objects’ exhibit. I also saw framed black and white stills from a graphic novel, giant inkblots on pieces of paper taller than my 5”2” frame, bookmarkers linked together with strings, photographs blurred to resemble paintings, digital photographs enhanced with digital paint and labeled as ‘paintings,’ endless sculptures of the female torso in various sizes, oil paintings encased in mesh wire to symbolize the closing off of the US border…

As I walked around, I felt a new yet familiar sensation. Instead of my old judgmental self who would have been critical and unappreciative of all the things I saw, I felt a thrill, an excitement similar to being in a foreign country and being exposed to unfamiliar visual treats.  I’m maturing as an artist, I thought.  I could actually look at art that’s completely different from mine and not judge it from my point of view… I could look and appreciate these works on their own terms.  I could perhaps even incorporate some of the ideas into my own work!

I suppose it’s possible to learn art appreciation.  But what does it take?  My learning came from immersing myself in the art world for two years as an art student.  How does the average person learn to appreciate art?

To answer this question, I thought about how the people in my own world look at art.  I have a friend who has very little appreciation for art. She likes nature, however, and I’ve found her admiring the most inane piece of landscape as if they were masterpieces.  I have a co-worker who can’t “see” anything as art unless it’s a perfect rendition of the real world.  She appreciates my wildlife photographs but doesn’t understand why I’d want to photograph graffiti.  These two people have little or no interest in art but are nature enthusiasts.  Thus, it’s easy to comprehend their proclivity towards art that represents natural landscapes.

But, among the people that I know who do appreciate art, there’s a range of aficionados who run the gamut from those who read about and pay attention to art happening in the past and present and those who are ignorant about art but don’t want to show their ignorance and thus buy into anything that is classified as ‘art.’ 

Then, there are the artists. I have artist friends who are also as closed-minded as my non-artist friends - many of them can only see from their own point of view and see others’ works as less important or valuable. Then there are those who either have no critical thinking ability or refuse to use them by accepting all art on its own terms.  Of course, many of them fall somewhere in-between these extreme range of thought.

As an art student, I met artists who create abstract works because they are bored with realism or because they are trying to find an expression of something that realism can’t portray, or because they don’t have the skills for drawing.  I met landscape painters who love nature.  But I also met landscape painters who chose landscapes as their subject because they can’t draw.  As someone with good drawing skills, it was initially difficult for me to accept artists who couldn’t draw (this theme resonated with me when I saw it presented in the movie “Art School Confidential”).  Most of the artists that I admire (Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Magritte) have displayed a wide range of artistic accomplishment and drawing abilities was a fundamental skill in their repertoire.

But, then I learned about Rothko, an abstract expressionist whose work has no obvious reference to the real world.  Yet, I met people who are passionate about Rothko to the point of insanity.  Of course, there are others who think that appreciation of his artwork is a result of marketing on the same lines as the “Emperor’s New Clothes.”  Who is right? Who is wrong?  Is there a right or wrong in the world of art? 

Is art appreciation simply an extension of the personality of the viewer?  Can it be learned?  Based on my personal experience, I’d say yes to both.  I think that untutored minds appreciate art as an extension of their own personalities but tutored minds can be taught to appreciate art and grow as a person.  The danger of being tutored, however, is that of becoming a victim of the psychology of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

The line between genuine, learned, and blind appreciation is blurry and fragile.  Is suppose that’s why it’s ‘art’ and not ‘science.’

 

 

For comments/complaints/kudos/article ideas/etc., please write to Leena Prasad at art@WeAreNotAmused.com.  Please let me know in your letter if it’d be okay to publish it as part of this column.