An early Emperor of the Xia Dynasty in China about 4,000 years ago, is credited to have said “A picture speaks a thousand words.” He must have been inspired. Most people just look at a piece of art and go, “Well, this one must be mute because not a word has been spoken yet!”
Why is it that besides the self proclaimed connoisseurs of art, the rest either get uncomfortable around it or end up dismissing it? If you’ve ever noticed people in an art museum, you’ll mostly find them walking about disinterestedly, wondering what the big deal is, or shuffling their feet before a painting, not knowing what to make of it! They assume that there’s some big secret to understanding art and they, of course, are just about sophisticated enough to enjoy the free wine and cheese that goes along with these affairs, and nothing more…
When you think about it, the art of appreciating art is not untouchable. Nobody expects you to look at a piece of art and come up with something like “Although I am not a painter, I think that the reductive quality of the spatial relationships verges on codifying the substructure of critical thinking.” So the question arises - what does it mean to appreciate or critique art? Let’s talk about music for a quick second. Music is art. If you can say you distinctly identify with Pearl Jam over the Backstreet Boys, and come up with a reason for it, then you’ve done it. You’ve critiqued art. The same theory applies to other forms as well. You’re not expected to enjoy everything. Artists differ in their style, brush strokes, use of colours, subject matter, etc. As your taste evolves, you’ll find something you like.
Most artists hope to inspire emotion or tell a story through their work. So besides taking a closer look into the technical aspects of a painting’s composition, ask yourself these questions - Why do you think the artist created it this way? What was he thinking? How do you think the subjects’ in the painting are feeling? How are you feeling? If you can carefully observe a piece and wonder aloud the answers to these questions, you would’ve done it again. Critiqued art.
The more you do this, the more you hone your powers of observation, learn new facts about history, and improve your conversation skills as you talk about what you observe on the walls around you. Perhaps, then, wine and cheese will not be your only incentive to visit a gallery and a picture you look at, will actually speak to you. Even if it’s not all of thousand words!
Start your critique practice today and you could be well on your way to becoming a conoisseur yourself. Check out all the latest art events that are happening in your city.
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Tags: appreciating-art, art-appreciation
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