Understand Art
Kris Sammy
/Understanding
Why Art isn't Stupid.
I am, above anything, grateful as hell for modern art. Still here? Good. I am perfectly aware that it is sometimes boring, lazy, offensive, shockingly minimal and mostly confusing. I too understand the feeling of frustration when you step into an art gallery, see that someone has put a mirror on the wall and christened it “art.”
Art is open to interpretation, and that is one of the beautiful things about it. It doesn't jump out and declare "THIS is what I'm all about." Instead, it requires you to have an open, inquiring mind; you must enter the painting and see where it takes you. Abstract or modern art gives you the freedom to explore the artwork and assign your own meaning to the piece.
It is best to see abstract art in person to truly get the full effect. This will help you immeasurably with understanding abstract art. You can't get the full impact of a piece of art from a small photo in a book or pixelated image online.
In person, you can see up close the texture, size, stroke of the paintbrush, shine or matte of the surface. You can feel the strength of the painting from across the room. You can stand in the space the artist once occupied, and try to imagine his or her thoughts upon each stroke of the brush.
Understanding abstract art requires an inventiveness that invites you to discover for yourself the meaning behind the work. It is not easy to grasp, like still lifes, portraits, or other form of representational art, because it is open to interpretation in a way that representational art is not.