Yesterday, my Visual Culture tutorial class went to the Lismore Regional Gallery to become "art experts." This month's exhibit was much more appealing to me than the contemporary art I visited last time. It was now filled with many large canvases of portrait paintings, whether they be extremely realistic or impressionistic and abstract. I spent a while observing each portrait and could feel an immediate connection to many of the paintings, as if the person was a close friend or someone I knew. Some portraits were challenging to connect to, as a few were just dashes that made up the resemblance of a face and torso. Our current topic in lecture deals with art critics and what it takes to "accurately" critique artwork in order to be claimed an expert. As I walked around the gallery, I noticed it was a very different experience than my first time there. Now, mostly middle-aged people were moving through the three-roomed gallery, discussing the artwork amongst themselves. It was noisy and full of energy. Interestingly enough, I wasn't connecting with other people's energy and conversations. It felt like they were all in an elite group, dressed to the nines with their invisible glasses of red wine. Being an "outsider" was obvious, as the younger students in my class moved about the rooms. It was as if I had to follow a certain script, stay a certain amount of time to look at each portrait, have a certain look of interest or analysis on my face. I was actually interested in many of the artworks, and then the people behind me would make a submissive comment about its lack of complexity, and I felt like I had made a mistake in my viewing expertise. It was supposed to be a room full of curious artists, community members, students, just people passing by; instead it felt like taking a test in a class I never attended.
Then, I realized that I have just as much of a legitimate opinion than anyone in that room, and I'm entitled to my genuine first reactions. It felt good to stare at one alluring portrait for ten minutes, and decide to just glance at another portrait that I found less appealing. After about an hour of scoping out the gallery, I had to decide which portrait to examine for our assignment. I chose one that many people just ignored because it was unlike the vibrant, abstract artworks that caught most people's attention. This particular painting was of a young girl that looked like she was portrayed as an adult. She was holding a small black dog in a way that looked as if it were a baby instead of a pet. The assignment required us to describe the physical characteristics and formal dynamics of the artwork as a whole. Next, was interpreting the piece and differentiating between conceptual and theoretical underpinnings, as well as the aesthetic approach and narrative/symbolic content. Finally, we evaluate its significance now and future significance. I sat there writing all my critique and wondered why the art world became the way it was. Extremely judgmental and all about the opinion of a few people who claim to be experts. How can you be more expert at viewing art than someone else? I just don't like the idea that art critics can authenticate artworks and are accepted as having the expert evaluation of a work's value. We watched a video in class about the art world now, and how it has become purely political and based on a person's social status. Money moves art now instead of everyday people's preferences. I know that goes for a lot of things in our material world, but I just think art should be different...too pure and sincere to just be pushed around. It cheapens the experience.
Then, I realized that I have just as much of a legitimate opinion than anyone in that room, and I'm entitled to my genuine first reactions. It felt good to stare at one alluring portrait for ten minutes, and decide to just glance at another portrait that I found less appealing. After about an hour of scoping out the gallery, I had to decide which portrait to examine for our assignment. I chose one that many people just ignored because it was unlike the vibrant, abstract artworks that caught most people's attention. This particular painting was of a young girl that looked like she was portrayed as an adult. She was holding a small black dog in a way that looked as if it were a baby instead of a pet. The assignment required us to describe the physical characteristics and formal dynamics of the artwork as a whole. Next, was interpreting the piece and differentiating between conceptual and theoretical underpinnings, as well as the aesthetic approach and narrative/symbolic content. Finally, we evaluate its significance now and future significance. I sat there writing all my critique and wondered why the art world became the way it was. Extremely judgmental and all about the opinion of a few people who claim to be experts. How can you be more expert at viewing art than someone else? I just don't like the idea that art critics can authenticate artworks and are accepted as having the expert evaluation of a work's value. We watched a video in class about the art world now, and how it has become purely political and based on a person's social status. Money moves art now instead of everyday people's preferences. I know that goes for a lot of things in our material world, but I just think art should be different...too pure and sincere to just be pushed around. It cheapens the experience.
In the video there was lady who lived in a trailer park and was a trucker, and bought a huge canvas painting for $5 at a thrift store. She gave it to her friend and almost used it as a dart board because they thought it was so hideous. A local art teacher came by one day and looked astonished at the sight of what looked like a real Jackson Pollock painting. After ten years of "experts" telling her she's crazy for thinking they'd spend a minute of their time on someone like her, she finally got an answer. No one would take the time to analyze the painting and take samples to authenticate it. They found a Canadian art investigator who after one year of analysis claimed without a doubt it was a genuine Jackson Pollock painting. The painting was worth $15 million. She never sold it because of the principle of the matter, that the art world didn't deserve the satisfaction of getting the piece in their elitist hands. It remains on the wall of her trailer home.
Through taking this visual culture class, I've become fascinated with the idea of putting value on expressions. That's all art is, just a feeling, a place, an emotion, put into a visual form. It's safe to say I'm more than happy producing artwork and enjoying others' works. The whole criticism of another person's expressions is just not for me.
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