seeking to
gain a fundamental understanding on how to approach art. It is suggested that
to begin this process the reader should place aside what he or she already
considers to be “true” about art, and start from zero. This suggestion is made
based on the idea that to truly appreciate or understand a work of art, the
viewer must first approach the work with an unbiased mind, this means to
approach the piece in the same way that you would approach the meeting of a new
person: until you get to know the individual you are meeting for the first time
it is impossible to pass judgment on their qualities, to do so before hand is
to approach that person with prejudice. Every work of art is unique;
stereotyping a work of art in advance based on preconceived formulas such as
style, period, artist, monetary value or any other possible preconception is
actually to ignore the uniqueness that makes art so powerful in the first
place.
1.
How to “look” at art.
When you find yourself face to face
with a work of art, this is one essential first step to take if you intend to
understand anything about it: look at
it as the unique object that it is without referencing any other work of art or
any previous knowledge you may have about types of art. Every work of art is
unique and must be viewed exclusively from this perspective.
2:
Motivation of the artist.
Give art a chance! The creation of
an artwork is no simple task, it is an extremely complicated form of work that
essentially is executed by the artist without any guarantee of success. There
are no real “road signs” provided to the artist to tell him if the unique
object he is creating will be “good” or not; in other words, the act of
creation is an act of faith. This in itself should give the viewer a moment of
pause where he or she will ask the question: what is the artist’s motivation?
When you approach an artwork, consider this: the artist took the time and
energy to create this object with no clear sign that the creation of this work
would actually be worth the effort. Why did he do it? What is the hidden reason
for this effort? With this in mind you will begin to actually search the work
for the meaning or importance behind it; in most cases when dealing with a
“fair” work of art your effort will be worthwhile.
3.
Technical components of the work in question.
Once you begin to “study” the work
of art you are viewing, consider the technical elements the artist used to make
the piece. This is the one area of viewing a work of art where some prior
knowledge does become useful. Many technical possibilities have been discovered
by artists through the centuries, these possibilities have increased the range
of what the artist is able to accomplish in his work. When creating a work of
art the artist will select any one or any number of these techniques in
combination to achieve a final resolution of the piece. For the viewer, it is
then necessary to look at how well the artist used this particular technique or
how well he unified the multiple techniques to complete the work. A full
description of how these techniques work singularly or in combination would be
far too long in this simple guide: for those that already have a basic
understanding of these principles there is no real need for description, for
those of you who do not yet know I can offer a good metaphor that will allow
you to move forward without a full understanding of this information. Most
music listeners do not have a working understanding of the technical basics
underlying the music they listen to, however, they are able to “feel” when the
music is “right” or “wrong”; to say this another way, when a beat is out of
place, you know it. In the visual arts, the principle remains the same, though
we are not usually aware of it; for you the viewer to become aware of this, it
requires you to pay close attention to what you are viewing, when you do this,
the aberrant or dissonant element will show itself clearly. In principle, all
techniques used by the artist in a work of art should be in harmony with each
other. When there is harmony in the technical elements employed to create the
work, it just seems “right”.
4.
Meanings.
As stated above, the artist always has
a motivation for the energy he expends in the creation of a work of art. All
art forms are a form of communication, in the case of the visual arts it is
visual communication. This simply means that the visual artist is attempting to
communicate with you by showing you an image made in a particular manner. It is
at this point that you will combine your understanding for the artist’s
technical choices in the execution of the work with the knowledge that the
artist had a clear motivation to communicate something to you. Taking this
combination as your starting point you then look to the image you are being
shown; if the work is successful the meaning should become apparent to you. If
nothing immediately impresses itself on you, then look to how you “feel”.
Again, like music, the visual arts can impress sensations on you that you may
not immediately be aware of as conscious thoughts. If you take a moment to consider
how the work is making you feel, you may be able to combine this with the image
and then gain the understanding of the work.
It is important to add here that a
failure to understand the work you are viewing may not
be the
result of your “inability” to understand what the artist is trying to
communicate to you.
As stated
above, there are no true “road signs” for the artist to follow, as a result,
not every work of art created by a talented artist will be successful; some
fall short of their mark. In general though, a successful work of art will be
intelligible to the average viewer without that viewer having excessively
specialized knowledge about art (this is a particularly important point in
relation to contemporary art). Art that does not meet this criterion cannot be
considered successful.
5.
Feelings.
The visual arts are generally active on
many levels simultaneously, as stated before, very much like music. Just like
music, a visual artist can give the viewer of his work specific sensations or
feelings. This can be accomplished in many ways that the viewer may never
become aware of as they tend be very technical in nature. Briefly however one
of the most accessible of these can be stated simply here: color. Using only color
choice an artist can stimulate emotions or moods in his audience. The range of
emotions an artist can stimulate in a viewer of his work is only limited by the
number of emotions that a human being can feel. Communication through the
emotions is perhaps one of the most used modes that an artist will employ in
his attempt to connect with his audience. For this reason it is absolutely
necessary that you pay close attention to the feelings you experience in the
presence of the work of art you are viewing. Simply expressed, what does it
make you feel? A work of art as a unique object with the purpose to communicate
something to you should make you feel something in its presence, the same way
you would feel in the presence of another human being. Either the work will
exert a force on you that makes you “feel” intrigued and stimulated, or it will
exert a pressure on you that makes you feel uncomfortable and the desire to
move away from it. Before you step away, or step closer, take note of whatever
sensation you are experiencing as it just may be the key the artist implanted
in the work to give you the ability to understand the work. A work of art that
you pay close attention to, should make you feel something, if not, it is more
than likely that the work is not successful as art.
6.
Additional points to keep in mind for those looking to buy art…
A.
The
name of the artist that created the work you are considering is absolutely
unimportant when you are viewing the work as a unique object. Even
the best known artists do not always create successful works, some
works just do not succeed.
B.
When
considering a work of art, do not consider the price of the work as your first
qualification. Only consider the attributes of the actual work at hand. Some
extremely expensive works of art are not successful works, as some inexpensive
works are very successful. Art and business are not the same thing.
C.
Trust
your own feelings about the work of art. Experts may be able to advise
you about art, but experts usually have their own interests to look
after as well. In the final analysis, you are the one that must live with the
art you buy.
D.
Though
many people talk about investing in art, don’t do it if you love art. People
who invest in art are thinking about money, which has nothing to do with
art. Only
buy what you love, in this way you insure yourself that you will not
make a mistake with your money.
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