MIND OVER MATTER

Whenever we look at a piece of art, regardless of its medium, style or subject matter, we make a decision to either approve or disapprove it. In other words we either like it or we don’t!

We arrive at such judgements through our experiences in life. The broader our education and life experiences, the more valid our judgements are; or is that so? We need to understand what we see in order to make such judgements. If we don’t understand, we think that what we are seeing is often rubbish because we need a visual translation in order to appreciate what we are looking at. Everything we know and have learnt shapes our feelings and reactions. Change (for some) and new ideas (for many) are often hard to accept because they go against what we know and what we’ve been taught and experienced in our lives.

I once heard a lady in a gallery commenting on a painting that she disliked  because it depicted a number of blue-coloured sheep, and as sheep weren’t blue, she thought the painting was rubbish! Many art patrons think that all abstract art is a total waste of time because it means nothing to them. They need to see ‘real’ objects to make sense of it.

But what if the painting you were looking at wasn’t what you thought it was even though you liked it? What did you base your judgement on? If you changed your mind after being told its meaning by the artist, what is that saying about the way you see art?

Today’s featured painting is a good example. Do you like it? If so, why, if not, why? What’s the painting about? Did you have to ‘see’ something in it to identify with the painting?

This painting is based on one of the following:

1. A blood-splattered window where the colours have been altered.
2. The four seasons (not the pop group).
3. Bird poo splattered over a window frame.
4. An aerial view near the sea.
5. An unsuccessful prison breakout.
6. A composition with 4 squares

It was number 3. Did you get it right? If you simply liked the painting for its composition, shapes and colours, then you also got it right!

Funny thing the mind, isn’t it?

Richard