Why Is Modern Art So Unsettling To So Many People? (emotion, aunt)
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To many, it seems incomprehensible, of no value. I'm referring mainly to Expressionism and Cubism: Picasso, Chagall, Leger and others.
Music is the sweetest of the arts, visual arts can be downright brutal, and devastatingly honest.
Many of these Cubist painters, painted during WWI & WWII, viewing the human race having gone insane, and the insanity continues?
They also painted figures which looked robotic, disconnected, but they foresaw what was coming the robiticizing , disconnectedness, dehumanizing which corporatism/industrialization brought about, and continues onward.
Do you find this modern art unsettling or do you see the beauty in it, and go kookoo over it like I do?
Some modern/contemporary art is nothing short of wonderful, on par with ancient Greek statues, Gothic architecture churches, and French Impressionist paintings.
Other modern/contemporary "art" barely counts as art. If your reaction is "My 3-year-old could have done that!", then its art value is debatable. (Such paintings become objects of satire, even.) Or worse, if looks like somebody filled a bidet with paint, squatted in it, then rubbed their tuchus on a bed sheet, then it's not art at all, but a big mess.
I haven't witnessed the sort and magnitude of responses to modern art that your title describes. In my experience, there's not much awareness or appreciation for fine visual arts overall these days. It's just nt on many people's radar, like opera.
That said, even Thomas Kinkade sure did/does sell a boatload of "art."
For a lot of contemporary art, the viewer needs to have at least some understanding of the artist him- or herself and their intent, which is more work than many people are willing to put in, and it isn't inherent on looking at any particular piece. So someone like Damien Hirst is a lot less accessible than Monet. A nice picture of a pond is more appealing and less challenging than a sheep in formaldehyde in a plexiglass case.
For a lot of contemporary art, the viewer needs to have at least some understanding of the artist him- or herself and their intent, which is more work than many people are willing to put in, and it isn't inherent on looking at any particular piece. So someone like Damien Hirst is a lot less accessible than Monet. A nice picture of a pond is more appealing and less challenging than a sheep in formaldehyde in a plexiglass case.
That is the thing. When something has to be explained to be understood it loses its audience.
I toured the Louvre years ago and I was blown away by the great works of art from the Masters because they spoke to my emotions whereas modern contemporary art speaks more to the intellect.
I'd rather enjoy a piece for what it presents than try to figure out something for what it tries to convey.
To many, it seems incomprehensible, of no value. I'm referring mainly to Expressionism and Cubism: Picasso, Chagall, Leger and others.
Music is the sweetest of the arts, visual arts can be downright brutal, and devastatingly honest.
Many of these Cubist painters, painted during WWI & WWII, viewing the human race having gone insane, and the insanity continues?
They also painted figures which looked robotic, disconnected, but they foresaw what was coming the robiticizing , disconnectedness, dehumanizing which corporatism/industrialization brought about, and continues onward.
Do you find this modern art unsettling or do you see the beauty in it, and go kookoo over it like I do?
That is why (classical) music is my favorite among the arts.
When I look at art, I am looking for one thing first and foremost: beauty. I do not look for some kind of social commentary, I do not want to be preached at or moralized about the state of society. I want my soul uplifted, I want perfection. Very little of modern art meets that cryterion.
The first thing I thought about when I read your post, OP, is Picasso's "Guernica". To me, it's one of the most powerful pieces of art in the world- but the key, IMO, is understanding the subject matter and that it was painted in one of the darkest eras of Spanish history.
Overall, I'm not a huge fan of 20th century fine arts, as I'm more of a Metropolitan Museum of Art than a MOMA gal, but I definitely do appreciate the art when it's put in its historical context.
I love the social commentary of the 60's Pop Art movement, for example. Also the symbolism in Dali's work.
I think, for me, my appreciation comes from the technical ability of the artist, combined with the message that they are sending. Though, with that said, I'm a big fan of Joan Miro's work, so perhaps there's no real rhyme or reason for what I am drawn to?
That said, even Thomas Kinkade sure did/does sell a boatload of "art."
Thomas Kindade is more kitsch than art. It's meant to trigger certain emotions, rather than show the beauty of something. But unlike a lot of the modern art, I can at least see the artistic value in his paintings.
I consider Norman Rockwell, also somewhat kitschy, to be one or two steps above Thomas Kinkade.
Last edited by MillennialUrbanist; 04-12-2017 at 09:56 AM..
From a psychological standpoint, an artist like Mark Rothko is interesting, because he was consciously tapping into the idea of the collective unconscious in his work. He felt like a viewer should look at one of his paintings and be able to "get it" inherently, without anything having to be explained or verbalized or even understood.
I was recently at MOCA, in L.A., and one room is set apart for a stage full of mannequins, with screws in all parts of their bodies, with headline news clips, political figures, gory pictures of people maimed, and so I asked the guard in the room, who was Black, what he thought the artist was trying to convey and he had no idea!
"For Chrissakes, for 2 centuries you've been screwed with, and you can't figure it out. We're all screwed over every day by Corporations and politicians!"
Yes, it was haunting, rather disgusting, and I've seen other displays like this, which will haunt me forever. Now there's a good artist!
Obviously, if some of these art works of the Expressionists, Cubists were so invaluable, why are they selling for millions and millions?
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