How to Appreciate Modern Art

Modern art isn't scary. But, as Seurat says in Sunday in the Park with George: Art isn't easy.
Nothing good or beautiful or lasting is.
Something which will enrich and enhance your life usually requires a hearty dose of your attention and respect, and will demand multiple viewings, listenings, watchings, etc. Just as music reveals more of itself to you with each session, a painting can continue to say new things with each viewing. The painting shown at the top left is called Day Pool with 3 Blues by David Hockney. I was moved by it when, in 7th grade art class, we had to flip through dusty books in the library and find a picture of a painting which we wanted to emulate. The shimmering pool with its bright diving board smack in the middle suggests a perpetual invitation into the cool, clear water--I always wanted to jump in. Unlike the world of literature where, sadly, trashy pop literature didn't turn out to be the gateway to the finer, important canon, art, I think, might be different. If you find one piece, like my Day Pool--or whatever it might be for you--the feeling is too good to let it stop there. You'll be scrounging around for your next fix in no time. Warhol, Lichtenstein, Close, Rothko, Moore, Chagall--no one is safe.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• museum
• art books
• desire
• sight

1. Obviously going to your local museum is a great first step. Even if you don't live in a major city, there is usually at least a gallery nearby. Frequent it.

2. When you go, and this might be tough, try and force yourself to go it alone. Your reaction to art, like when watching TV or a film, is so influenced by who's around you. If you decide to wander the halls and rooms of a pristine museum alone, you will be able to enjoy your own, unfettered reactions to pieces, and then the silence to figure them out.

3. Most art books are costly, so I recommend going to a library. Don't be ashamed if you don't know where the hell your local library is. Until recently, I didn't even really get the concept--a place where you can take things from a store, for free? Why yes! Apparently "libraries" rent "books" to people. I was always a notes-in-the-margin kind of reader, so having a book that doesn't belong to me was never very appealing, however many thousands it might save me per year. But art books are different. They are usually art in and of themselves and taking a few of these hulking behemoths home is a fun way to find what speaks to you.

4. Maybe the library proves to be too much for you--what with all its required silence and old people. Then a trip to your big-box book retailer will also do the trick. Find the art section, a pen and piece of paper at hand, and sink into one of their overstuffed chairs in the corner. Keep a list of artists and work which cause you to feel something--anything. Do you hate it? Write it down. Do you find yourself confused? Make a note about it. A strong reaction means something in the piece spoke to you, and that's the salient detail--don't try and look for your FAVORITE PIECE OF ART OF ALL TIME as you're perusing, just track your emotions without a lot of thought.

5. If you keep a list with some description of the piece, you will most likely be haunted by paintings or sculpture you felt something strongly for, and be drawn to be with them again. You'll think: I wrote down "Calm but cruel"--what did I mean? Why did I write that? And suddenly, as if by magic, you have feelings about art. There's no need to have to discuss it with anyone else. It's yours. The feelings are all for you.

6. Once--through the Audie Metcalf Modern Art Collective Method, only 99.95!--you have your fave lists, it's time to move on to reading about the artists, perhaps googling where your pieces are in permanent collections at museums, and maybe joining an art forum on line--intially, the anonymity will allow you a bolder point of view.

Tips & Warnings

• Ultimately, art is not an intellectual process. It's totally okay for a painting to make you weep without you really knowing why.
• That being said, if you have strong reactions to anything, it's the smart, nuanced person's job to try and verbalize your emotions--if for no other reason than making art a discussion with friends. Nothing feels better than feeling that simpatico with other people who love what you love.

[Hohum]

on 5/26/2008 I keep trying (re "modern art") but most of it does not connect emotionally. I often enjoy its color, lines, technique, or curiousness (Magritte, Chagall), but it loses me after that. I can enjoy realistic art often for hours as in the Renaissance masters, Velasquez, or something more recent like Lucien Freud. I find Rothco boring, and Lichtenstein is often a copyist!

[Chaotica]

on 4/21/2008 Well said and well done ;]