I have been thinking a lot about Art lately, reading a lot, watching a lot of artists doing live demonstrations every noon on Eric Rhoads’ Facebook event. So much to learn!! I have yet to find a simple explanation of what it is about Art that humans find attractive, and why some people are more attracted to Art than others. Being entranced by music or being moved to tears by a painting are, as far as I know, exclusively human reactions. Early humans felt the need to draw representations of their lives on cave walls. Children old enough to hold a wax crayon will scribble gleefully on anything they can reach. Where does this come from? What is the purpose? One could reasonably say “for self-expression!”, but that wouldn’t explain why anyone would want to look at the results of someone else’s “scribblings”? From what I have found so far, it seems to be for no other reason than for pleasure. Pleasure at looking at a “picture” and being reminded of a pleasant experience, real or imagined, of a dear parent or friend, of bygone days, or being drawn into it by their imagination, or in the case of religious art, to give them a representation of the object to be revered. Of course not all art represents real things, and therefore it’s not always the case that art reminds you of something. I am not personally a fan of abstract art, in that I won’t actively seek it out, but I have learned to appreciate that the artist was trying to convey a message, and that realism just didn’t do the job for them at that time. And that no, a five year old couldn’t have painted that…. Some abstract paintings I like, and some “do nothing for me”, and I have learned to accept that I am simply not the audience for who the artist made the work. The abstract paintings I do like have a pleasant balance of lines or forms or colors, so they do bring me pleasure, although not attached to a memory or to imagination, but simply by the harmony created by the artist. Kandinsky, in my opinion, was a master at this. So, what do you think? Why do you Art? Do you have favorite paintings? Why do you like them? I would love to read your answers in the comments!
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We are complex beings. Every individual is unique.Our brains are wired in such a way that though we may all be looking at a specific scenery , the way we perceve that scene or moment in time can be interpreted differently depending on the function of our brains. Will the scene be focused on the mathematical scale of the scene...patterns, design,etc...or the sensory part such as the atmospheric feel of the moment by capturing a feeling...real or abstract...or maybe it's the energy through action or colour that intrigues the artist....and others do not wish to open any doors of interpretation but to process the image as they see it without bias by recreating it more real than a photograph.
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
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