Keeping an Open Mind: Exploring Why We Like the Art We Like

This column originally embraced the belief that the visual arts are an essential and useful part of everyone’s life. The enjoyment and appreciation of art encourages the development of visual skills that positively affect critical judgment, style and taste. The ability to be observant and perceptive contributes to success in the workplace and guarantees a richer and more satisfying personal experience.

Subsequent columns discussed art in the workplace. the architectural environment and visiting small museums as an introductory art experience. However it is now time to return to introspection–time to reconsider the origins of our own attitudes and preferences in art.

When we look back to our formative, growing-up years, did the living room feature a reproduction of da Vinci’s Last Supper or a portrait of a big-eyed child? Did an adventurous great-aunt bequeath her Picasso drawing to mother, or was mother a prolific weaver whose masterworks hung throughout the house? Were you forced to wear a certain color that you now despise; was your class trip to the museum ruined by a disagreeable lunch? So many seemingly unrelated events color our perceptions that it is often necessary to remember the real reasons we react the way we do–either positively or negatively–to different types of art.

Your choice in art can be made on a purely visceral basis — “this is appealing, I like it,” or conversely, “this is hideous, I hate it.”

The next question to ask ourselves is what kind of art do we best respond to right now? Many love the Old Masters for their realism, identifiable show of skill, historical validation and heavy gilt frames. Others seek a more modern identification and choose French Impressionists or jump ahead to Post-War abstractionism. Whatever the choice, it can be made on a purely visceral basis–“this is appealing, I like it,” or conversely, “this is hideous, I hate it.” Both reactions are a valid basis for further exploration.

While it is true that art can be enjoyed solely at face value–i.e., for what it looks like, our perceptions will be enhanced by learning about the context in which the artist worked. Wall labels, introductory panels and brochures, not to mention self-guided audio tours make museum exhibitions more accessible and allow us valuable insight into how and why an artist chose a particular subject, color, composition or scale. This contextual information also reminds us that artists have always responded to social change, economic pressures, political tensions and personal ups and downs, just as they do today. It is important to remember that all art has subtexts and the effort required to discern these finer points will both give us the larger picture and make us feel a part of the art history continuum.

Artists have always responded to social change, economic pressures, political tensions and personal ups and downs, just as they do today.

With the invention of photography in the nineteenth century artists saw much of their narrative and documentary function evaporate. They sought new modes of expression, an escape from the restrictions of the Western realist tradition. The Impressionists broke up the picture plane into dabs and splotches of color; Cubists sought to represent multiple views of three-dimensional images simultaneously in two-dimensional drawings and paintings. In the 1950’s the Abstract Expressionists dematerialized the image completely, creating a style of emotional expression that required the active involvement of the viewer to consider and interpret its meaning.

Contemporary art is often confrontational and prods us into reconsidering our own views on sensitive social and political issues.

Contemporary art, which is the art of very recent times, is created by artists who employ many valid aesthetic approaches. Realism, abstraction, minimalism, media and performance art exist side-by-side. More and more words and photographic images have appeared as part of the fabric of the art of our times. Contemporary art is often by its nature a vanguard for change and introspection. Because of this, it is often confrontational and prods us into reconsidering our own views on sensitive social and political issues.

As we explore why we like the art we like, we can simultaneously learn why we might also like something else. Keeping an open mind towards the art of the past will help us to access the art of the present, which will in turn prepare us for the art of the future. Visual training, art appreciation and observing all we see with a critical and appreciative eye will repay our effort in many real and quantifiable ways.

About the author: Carlo Lamagna is Director of Visual Arts Administration at New York University.