Art is a very universal concept, in the sense that everything can be interpreted as art; it just depends on the individual’s perspective. However, art for me is something that can induce an emotional response from the viewer, and to articulate and inspire upon the artist’s intent and skill behind his work of art. “In order to experience art fully viewers must go through a mini ego death by placing themselves in the inspired mind of the artists, who themselves are out of their minds and only acting as channels of creative spirit” (Grey 74). Art can be very subjective, and the nature of this entity can be very influential on the viewer. “No matter what state of being is expressed in a work of art, universal creative spirit is the prime move behind all art media” (Grey 79). Art is a method for one to visually display their imagination or thought process, and so this ideal is cherished throughout our history due to its vast uniqueness and significance to our cultures. Just like two individuals aren’t identical, no two pieces of art can be drawn the same, as they are created through different styles and motives behind different artists.
One concept that Grey brought up which I agree with is the ‘three eyes of knowing’, which “are inspired by the radiant spiritual beauty of the subject, fascinated b the subject’s harmonic structure, and motivated to express the unique wholeness of the subject by drawing a bounding line around it.” (Grey 74). Up to this point, I always assumed that it was solely the viewer’s responsibility to judge art upon these ideologies, but I realized that the artists too must maintain the same guidelines as well, in order for the viewer to be able to see and understand such content in the first place. It is unfortunate that art has such a broad criteria on what is considered art; it makes such work as the authors on the same comparison to an organized pile of rocks. Because of this, I feel that the value of art has been diluted and is the reason as to why people don’t appreciate art as much they used to in our past. I hope that we can go back to that stage to appreciate true art by its nature and to think critically behind its purpose; I feel that doing so will give these artists the recognition and respect that they truly deserve.
Hi, I also very interested in the three eyes theory. The three eyes are “the eye of flesh sees the ‘outer’ realm of material objects: the eye of reason sees symbolically, drawing distinctions and making conceptual relationships; and the mystic eye of contemplation sees the luminous transcendental realm” (Grey, 73). For me, I feel I almost just apply the first two eyes in my life and I think the third kind of eye is very important to an excellent artist. How about your personal experience? Do you apply the mystic eye of contemplation to see the objects in your life? If so, you must have the talent of art. If not, it also is not a big deal to us because not everyone has the talent to be an excellent artist.
Ankit, I really admired your opening statement. I too believe that anything may be visualized as art, but it’s that extra bit of nostalgia invoked in the art itself what we feel or admire most. Art is very subjective to be interpreted in different ways, especially in diverse cultures. When the author states “…but what is the difference between merely looking at a thing and actually seeing it?” (Grey 71) I believe that is the message that the artist try to have us solve. What ‘does’ an art piece signify? Is there a difference between actually seeing it for yourself and just glancing at it? From the steps that Grey outlines for his readers (pg 75), he specifies that those are the steps that artist embark on when choosing an art piece or style of art, in which I disagree with. Would you believe that artist do follow these steps when choosing art, or what about the artist that choose an abstract approach for art style, what is the objective in that?