When I visit an art museum I always find myself caught in the debate of what is art and what is not. Why is it that something that looks like it came off the walls of an elementary school can be worth millions, or that the yellow square gets an entire wall to itself, but all the Van Goghs are all on the same wall?
What is art and what is simply junk? It has been said that art is created purposefully, meaning that it is meant to be looked at, read, listened to or experienced in some way. If I drew a picture on a sticky note it could be considered art if I created it with the purpose of having it be viewed by other people, but if I draw a flower just because I find it pretty then it may not.
Art is not about the actual piece itself, but more about the performance and how it evokes emotion. Successful art will evoke an emotion of some sort, sadness, frustration, loneliness or some other feeling that words cannot express. There have been many times where after seeing a painting I definitely feel different looking at it than I did before, but I am not sure just what it is I feel.
Some of the most disappointing art is pretty or fun to look at, but fails to conjure up an emotion beyond the initial “that must have taken a long time to make” or “that’s nice”.
Art should be challenging in some way; sometimes it needs to have the shock value where you can think that it shouldn’t be in a museum. Maybe the artist wasn’t a “good” technical artist but his or her work, no matter how “ugly” it may be, still holds just as much meaning and cultural significance as a Picasso or Monet.
The museum experience is not only a great opportunity to see art, but also to people watch and see how strangers react to art. Do they spend ten minutes in front of a single piece or do they move on with little more than a sideways glance? Do they look at their phone and seem to forget they are in a museum?
Everyone has his or her own way of taking in art and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Standing so close to a painting that the security guard has to tell you to step away or looking at it from across the room are all valid, but updating Facebook is not.
Telling your friends you’re in front of The Scream but failing to look at it is a waste of time and a wasted opportunity to see something in real life and not just a picture of it on the Internet. Social media can be a great tool, but please don’t let it take away from the museum experience.
The debate over what is considered art has been waging on and is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
Something may appear to be thrown together or simple, but if it was created with a purpose and evokes an emotion, it can be considered museum-worthy art. Maybe the giant yellow square has a purpose after all.
