Objective:
- Examine multiple perspective for evaluating art
Artifact:
I first watched this week’s video about beauty, a Ted Talks presentation by Denis Dutton. What is beauty and where did the idea come from? I agree with the first and most widely know definition, “ Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. In my head, somewhat like our discussion on values, it is personal and different for everyone. Some see beauty in things others do not. There was a theory around minute 2:20 that beauty is more precisely in the “culturally conditioned eye of the beholder”. Theorist think that your taste of beauty is developed culturally, by what your culture has determined is beautiful. But later on that theory is disproved and I believe it was wrong. Maybe not way back when, but now, people can find beauty in thousand of things unrelated to their own culture. Dutton explains the painting, picture or landscape that is found universally pleasurable. That is not cultural; people of all cultures find it to be beautiful and find enjoyment by looking at it, or visiting it.
Personally, I am not into art much. Let me revise that and say I’m not into art in the typical sense of the word, paintings or sculptures (that’s what I typically think ‘art’ is). I am into music and dancing to some extent, which can also be art. I think my issue with painting is that I have no interest or experience in painting therefor it is hard for me to appreciate the work. Ellen Dissanayake does a great job of outlining the history of art, its timeline of interpretation and understanding and how to approach art. “’Disinterest’ implied that viewers could appreciate any art, even the artwork of eras or cultures far removed from their own, whether or not they understood the meaning the works had for the people who made and used them” (Dissanayake, 18). Perhaps the reason I don’t find interest in this form of art is because I don’t always see the meanings, reason or purpose or I struggle with aesthetics. I’m a logical minded person and I find difficulty in wrapping my head around it. Apparently I don’t have the ‘disinterested mind’ the author refers to to appreciate fine art. Sure I can appreciate that that is someone’s work and they put time and effort into it. But that is not my definition of beauty; I find beauty in other art forms. In the early 20th century, Bell and Fry decided that “ art had become, if not a religion, an ideology whose principles were articulated by and for the few who had leisure and education enough to acquire them” (Dissanayake, 18). Fine art can be seen in museums or galleries, which take time and often money to go see. These leisurely activities are not appealing to all. Education is more of my concern. Fine art is not educated well in my school system and I never sought out any understanding of it, so perhaps that is also why it doesn’t appeal to me.
Reflection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNaHaO4KNtY
The Unit header for this assignment is “What is Art for?” and I have difficulty answering that. I think the answer to that question is dependent on each piece of art work. I believe that there may be purpose to some works of art, and not others. The topic of art is still complicated for me to comprehend and discuss. However, the disinterest Dissanayake referred to is much easier for me to relate to. Considering my lack of education and interactions with art, I am very disinterested. I can appreciate art from the standpoint that I value the hard-work and effort that went into the piece.
The biggest thing I feel I learned from this unit was the ways in which art be evaluated and that the disinterested mindset usage most directly applies to me. While I mentioned above that I don’t have to disinterested mindset, I think I can just interpret the meaning differently. I believe I still find difficulty in finding the purpose and sheer beauty in certain art forms, but I can apply the thought into art forms I do enjoy. The Youtube like I posted on this page is a demonstration of one of the first dances I found artistic. I see it a beautiful and enjoying to watch, things that Dutton touched on.
For the future I can now approach art that I come across with a new perspective. Rather than trying to find the beauty or purpose the artist was after, I can find whatever I see beautiful in it and take pleasure from that. I feel however, based on past encounters, that I have difficulty finding enjoyment in fixed form of art.