I would be a liar if I told you that at the beginning of reading this essay, I felt like Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society, urging the students to rip from their textbooks the analysis section of poetry. But then again that's just me.
The difficulty of art, whether it be photography or painting or sculpture or performance, is that there really is no way to put a worthy number on it. Or perhaps, there are too many ways of seeing it to put a value on it. There are rules in art; guidelines of aesthetics to help us know what is most pleasing to the eye, what draws us most inward. Sometimes, the artist wants to do the opposite of that, their intention to show repugnance and hatred. This is where art becomes difficult to give worth to: in that it has both objective and subjective elements.
Objectively, it is made up of forms. We can objectively describe the medium, shape, color, line, render quality, etc. We can also objectively show objects (or at least their representation). Subjectively, however, art is made up of ideas, feelings, intentions, the artist's perspective, etc.
Things get more difficult when the benefits of art are subjective. Some look at a Mark Rothko painting and can walk away unfazed, even bored. Others are moved to tears, and are filled with great emotion.
This is where learning to analyze art is important. Learning to approach it in such a manner that you reserve all judgement till after you complete the process of examination. Then, and only then can you examine a picture for what it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment