Its embarrassing to admit this but until recently, my understanding of Art was incomplete. I have always believed that Art is a marriage of ideas & imagination and appreciating art involved ‘seeing’ the ideas & imagination put in by the artist. If you dint get it, then maybe this form of art wasn’t for you or just that the artist wasnt that good. That definition of Art, I now know was (to put it mildly) the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
A few weeks back I found myself in an art gallery in a remote place. I was there with a friend who was an art enthusiast and as we walked by sculptures and paintings, we came across a fascinating installation.
Inside a dark room, a silent short film was being projected on the wall. I followed my friend in and sat on the only bench in the room. For the next few minutes we were treated to black and white images that flashed on the screen. I sat there in utter confusion, not knowing what the hell was happening. I tried hard to make sense of what I watched but just couldn’t.
As we walked out, I was asked if I liked what I saw. I replied that I didnt understand it at all and just maybe that was not my kind of art (assuming the artist had to be good to get into the gallery). Thats when I was told something that changed the way I thought about Art.
“Art” my friend said, “doesn’t need to always make sense. Most often Art is about observing and letting the artwork to evoke emotions inside you.” The next line was the clincher “Its not what you think about it, but rather what it makes you feel.”
Since then I have been thinking a lot about Art and what I thought was artistic. Its very easy(and tempting) to reduce a piece of art into mathematics or logic but doing so only limits what you can see. Ever since I have had this realization, I have enjoyed art that I used to previously reject as a first instinct.
So next time you are in front of an art installation (and you if you thought of art like I used to), stop trying to explain to yourself why this is supposed to be beautiful and just clear your mind… maybe, just maybe you will enjoy it a lot more :)