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How To Look at ArtIt's hard for many people to understand nonrepresentational artwork. But it can be done!
In which we discuss the meaning and importance of nonrepresentational artwork and discuss some ways to look at it from a different point of view.
I had the pleasure of going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art with my family earlier this month. On our way out of the museum, we walked down the long corridor that goes by the gift shop to meet a large nonrepresentational painting by Barry Goldberg entitled, Miranda and Titania, 2001. My mother spoke disdainfully of the piece, "I could have done that", she said. But you did not, was my response. There is a misconception by art neophytes that any work of art that could have been executed by the viewer somehow negates the artwork. Here's my point...there is a famous piece of music by the artist and composer John Cage entitled 4'33" which is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. I am not a composer, but I could have done that, right? So does that negate its artness? Absolutely not. Art is not just about the execution, it is about the concept. The concept of most nonrepresentational art is about the pleasing or satisfying arrangement of shape and color. Most nonrepresentational art is difficult for people to understand because it doesn't represent a concrete image that our eyes and brain can identify. There is something unsettling and scary about this for people not used to looking at nonrepresentational art. It's why many people look at a Jackson Pollock painting and have the same thought as my mother, I could do that. Or the even more insulting, my kid could paint that. Some Pollock paintings also have cigarette butts imbedded in them, which must make the feeling of non-artness even more intense for some viewers. Even the context of John Cage's 4'33" is important. In the performance of this artwork a pianist comes onto stage and occasionally turns pages. In the midst of this silence the audience becomes aware of ambient noises: a car, a plane, the rustling of people in the hall. It all becomes part of the piece and is meant to challenge and engage the listener. So the next time you go to an art museum, leave the judgemental part of your brain at home and try to appreciate works that challenge your definition of art.
The copyright of the article How To Look at Art in Art & Society is owned by Mary Rayme. Permission to republish How To Look at Art in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Nov 30, 2006 11:43 AM
Suzanne Hill :
Nov 30, 2006 11:58 AM
Mary Rayme :
2 Comments
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