4 ms·

I do have that hostility to art criticism of which you speak, which is what prompted me to post. I know nothing about art, so I should have kept my mouth shut,

by anthay 11y ago

I do have that hostility to art criticism of which you speak, which is what prompted me to post. I know nothing about art, so I should have kept my mouth shut, or at least been less insulting. Sorry. When I read a story, hear a song or watch a movie and I might _feel_ something or my world-view may have been moved. But I look at a painting or sculpture and I feel nothing. It doesn’t feel right that a critic has to explain to me that my perception is being experimented with.

beat 11y ago
The need to explain it is one of the curses of modern art. I'm in the camp where I think it should be able to move you without explanation. But there's nothing wrong with not feeling moved by a particular kind of art, or by being irritated when it has to be explained to you. Art is also cultural, in the sense that only members of the culture really grok a piece of art. If you're an American, you naturally understand cowboy movies. But samurai films, which are in many ways the same thing, may feel strange to you. Most art is made only for people culturally similar to the artist. This includes fine art and modern art. If you aren't part of the modern art culture, you'll never get it, any more than if you're not Japanese you'll never understand eating natto (ugh, disgusting stuff, to even my openminded and educated American palate). Ultimately, though, we're all moved by things that feel personal to us. I've spent probably several hours in total just staring at a particular Jackson Pollock painting (Mural, University of Iowa collection). It's a profoundly emotional experience for me. You'd probably see a bunch of green, yellow, and black stripes and blobs. That's okay. That's how most people feel about it. That doesn't mean you're dumb, and it doesn't mean I'm pretentious. It just means we're different people, with different motivations. Universal art is usually dull art.

by anthay 11y ago

beat 11y ago

The need to explain it is one of the curses of modern art. I'm in the camp where I think it should be able to move you without explanation. But there's nothing wrong with not feeling moved by a particular kind of art, or by being irritated when it has to be explained to you. Art is also cultural, in the sense that only members of the culture really grok a piece of art. If you're an American, you naturally understand cowboy movies. But samurai films, which are in many ways the same thing, may feel strange to you. Most art is made only for people culturally similar to the artist. This includes fine art and modern art. If you aren't part of the modern art culture, you'll never get it, any more than if you're not Japanese you'll never understand eating natto (ugh, disgusting stuff, to even my openminded and educated American palate). Ultimately, though, we're all moved by things that feel personal to us. I've spent probably several hours in total just staring at a particular Jackson Pollock painting (Mural, University of Iowa collection). It's a profoundly emotional experience for me. You'd probably see a bunch of green, yellow, and black stripes and blobs. That's okay. That's how most people feel about it. That doesn't mean you're dumb, and it doesn't mean I'm pretentious. It just means we're different people, with different motivations. Universal art is usually dull art.