Self-Assessment
Every single experience I had in life was determined by art. The actions and decisions I have taken were because of art, whether I want it or not. Moreover, art has also played a huge role in the majority of other people’s lives too because they also encounter it regularly. As a result, art will have an enormous and noticeable impact on how an individual will mature as a person. Art will determine my place in society due to its large influence on how I see the world, how I think and interpret the message of other people, and how I define what is and what is not normal.
Art constitutes the entirety of our knowledge and understanding of our experiential reality. Therefore, by meticulously observing art and its elements, you can become a better and much informed individual. Your increased awareness and attention towards the elements of art contributes to your perception of the world. Furthermore, art can stimulate our mind to bring forth the process of thinking deeply about various topics. Thus, causing us to reflect, re-evaluate, and ameliorate our beliefs. One artwork that enlightened and redefined my views is the “Treachery of Images” by René Magritte. The artwork features an illustration of a pipe on a solid and empty background. Underneath the pipe, is a text in French claiming that the illustration is not a pipe. During my first time seeing the artwork, I initially believed that I experienced cognitive dissonance. I was in disbelief and what I saw was conflicting with what I had read. However, after further inspection, I slowly arrived at the idea that the artist responsible for the painting had intended for the viewers to have the capacity to differentiate representations from reality.
Despite art having the ability to allow artists to share and communicate their ideas towards their audience, it still has its limitations. An undeniable and objective fact about art is that it is subjective. Regardless of how the artist wanted to express their message, their artwork will always have some varying interpretations that may deviate from the message that the artist originally wanted to convey. Therefore, it is inevitable for the artist to have their work’s intended meaning be “misunderstood” by the viewers. For instance, the painting “Vir Heroicus Sublimis” by Barnett Newman had been perceived in ways that did not align with the purpose of the artwork. A great deal of viewers did not resonate with the ideas of Barnett Newman. The artwork was created to be emotionally captivating and powerful by staying true to its materiality and avoiding the dependence towards representations of real physical entities. It did not focus on the admiration for the technical skills or talents of the artist, but rather the appreciation for small details like its colors, shapes, and texture. Nevertheless, plenty of people did not share the same sentiments. Some have viewed it as a lazy and pretentious artwork produced for undemanding financial gains.
An aspect of art that is not frequently discussed among average people is its potential for it to completely transform and modify what we describe and presume as “normal”. After seeing multiple ways of dancing, we are heavily influenced by what we have seen. In consequence, we would have a difficult time seeing the choreography of dance be performed differently from what we have commonly seen. Additionally, we set standards based on our own personal comprehension of that form of art. For that reason, we find it challenging to recognize and respect artworks that are foreign and unfamiliar to us. I imagine that abstract art is often judged in a negative light due to it being dissimilar from the traditional types of art. Consequently, it is, in many cases, misunderstood.
Art makes up the wisdom and principles we develop throughout our lives as human beings. It tells a message that we can either agree or disagree with. Nonetheless, it will lead us to think about our beliefs. Even with its ability to enable artists to send and deliver their ideas to their audience, it will not automatically indicate that the viewers understand the idea. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing because it allows them to have diverse and interesting takes on the artwork that may have not existed if interpretations were only limited to the original intentions of the artist. It instigates and incite discourse and conversations. Thus, affecting how different individuals think. In addition, art can also challenge what we label as “normal” and “weird” because common trends in art can have a large influence on our beliefs. Just like how we view fashion and how we label something as “stylish” or “outdated”. Due to these multitude of reasons, I believe that art will play an important role in my life and how I see my position in society. As a result, I firmly believe that everything we know is because of art.