Does Anybody Really "Get" Art?

that's a really interesting story. reminds me a little bit about the game of looking at passersby and guessing what their name is, marital status, career, dreams, etc. I think I'm about on the same page as you on modern art--brief funny story, I took three semesters of a jewelry making class in college, and had a raging crush on the teacher, this gorgeous soft-spoken redhead. She was a big fan of modern art (actually contemporary art, which is apparently different?) and even lent me one of her favorite books about it--I never came around to liking it, but I lied and said I'd loved the book, just so I had an excuse to talk to her more ^-^;; I will say the giant art installations, especially when they're built into actual useable buildings, can be kinda cool.

Cleo McKeever

When I was going to college, I, a hard science nerd, was forced to take an art history class. It went fine until we got to modern art. I confided to the teacher that I felt that modern art was, well, not art at all. It was non-representational, etc. She made a deal with me. If my final paper (about modern art) was fully researched and the arguments within it were cogent and relevant, then she would give me a good grade despite my misgivings about modern art. At the time, I was working in downtown Washington, DC, and the Hirshhorn Museum was within walking distance. Over the next several weeks, I spent roughly 50 hours in the museum. I looked (and pondered) most everything in the museum. Eventually, I was no longer looking at the artwork itself, but watching the patrons of the museum, and their reactions to each art installation. My paper documented this, and, not so much my emotional reactions to the art, but the reactions of the folk looking at the art. Needless to say, my teacher gave me a good grade, even though my opinion about representational vs. non-representational art hasn't really changed. The thesis of the paper became that the artist is intending to have an emotional or sensory effect on the experiencer of the art. Some may be straightforward (a la representational art) and some may even be unintentional (some artists have claimed that the interpretations of the art intelligencia are wrong -- even though the intelligencia claim differently).

Ira Kroll

Casual or dressed up, you are so stunning. Loved seeing you as a literal piece of art

Annie Hanlin

Again, the makeup and styling, absolutely stunning, amazing work from the whole team! I've two minds on interpreting art. I studied film at Uni, became familiar with stuff like post-structuralism, mise-en-scene, auteur theory, cultural and historical contexts, etc. etc., all fun and interesting concepts that can provide deeper understanding of a work. It is a fun cognitive puzzle to play with these ideas. But then having a mother who is an artist, I've been taught to trust intuition. When I saw the Rothko pieces at the Tate some years ago, I remember connecting deeply with a sensation of doom and peace, similar to how you describe in this episode; cataclysm but calm. Beautiful work to me for no other reason than that intuitive experience. Similarly I once saw a piece by an artist I had never heard of at MONA in Hobart, Tasmania and it shook me. It was from 'Choral Fields' by Emma McNally, and it was the first time I felt someone had visually depicted what the insides of my brain feel like as an autistic person. It communicated something to me elegantly, and wordlessly, distinct from whatever intentions she had as the artist. Tl;dr I feel is that there is 'getting' art, knowing the intellectual, cultural, technical context. Then there is 'feeling' art, connecting on an intuitive, emotional level. Both have stimulative properties in different ways, maybe for the art we don't 'get' we can learn about a new culture, or technique, satiate the desire to learn. And sometimes we just feel seen in art. To conclude, Alfred Molina is a gem whomst we stan ♥️

Obviously not the correct take away from this, (yet another excellent, thought-provoking video) but how have I gotten this far never having heard the British pronunciation of "urinal" before?? 😂😜

Grey

Another fantastic video! Also this is a bit of a weird comment but it's so funny that both Alfred Molina and a painting by Leonardo da Vinci were both featured in this video-- I just (as in, finished last week) listened to an audiobook about Leonardo, and Alfred Molina did the narration! The whole time I was also like "oh! :) Alfred Molina :)" And if Abbi or anyone else is curious-- the book is by Walter Isaacson, and I really enjoyed it! It comes with an attached PDF with the images he talks about, and he often invites the audience to look more closely at the art-- not just its meaning, but how certain effects were achieved, and it's kind of a cool exercise that could pair really well with this video! For me, I think it really influenced how I saw the Seagram Murals in the beginning-- I just kept thinking of what it might have been like to make them. How long did Rothko spend trying to get just the right shades of desaturated reds and grays? Was he painting them close to the ground, in a small room, with off-white walls and low lighting? I do feel a bit trapped looking at them, but it's not because I'm in that room-- I'm watching a youtube video, after all!-- it's because I'm trying to look at art through the perspective of the person who made it. Anyway, great work, I love how much these videos make me think! And I can now say with some amount of confidence that if Leonardo da Vinci were alive today, he'd also be a big Philosophy Tube fan, lol <3

Victoria Borges

I've posted some meatier thoughts on Youtube, but here I'd just like to offer hugs to all of you who viscerally understand these lyrics from the song "Painted Rocking Horse" by John Coleman: I ride a painted rocking horse And I'm too frightened to let go There's a holy stallion stamping at the door And if I ride the wild horse tonight Well, I wonder where I'll go; Would he leave me, broken, bleeding, in the snow? In dream I rode the nightmare And in dream my heart was strong; I was lifted by the stallion and his song. But it's light and I'm still haunted By the winter of a fear Of a stallion gone forever, and I'm still here.

Veronica C. Morgan

I don't know if this would be called "constructivist", but it does seem legitimate to me that quality of art must be, at least to some degree, objective because perception of it will be dependent on physical senses and the observer's knowledge and comprehension. If someone asked me to judge an exhibition of farsi love poetry I would apologize that I cannot read the language and most unfortunately am totally unfamiliar with Persian romance. Any value judgement I might make about those verses would be less interesting for my lack of preparation to enjoy the art at all. I think you made a similar point but I wanted to share this reflection. Another most entertaining and thought provoking video essay, thank you!

Ben Taylor

Nicely done. For those looking for more, The Art Assignment YouTube channel has a number of episodes exploring many of these same themes/ideas and I think they make a great companion piece. How we relate to art in all its facets (meaning, feeling, movement, experience, monetary, etc) is so fascinating and a good lens into the wider aspects of who we are being as humans. Thank you for this dive into it!

Oliver 'Kannik' Bollmann

Joined your Patreon bc of this video!

Hans

As I get older, I’ve become more confident in admitting “this just bounces off my brain and doesn’t stick.” I try to keep an open mind, but I don’t force it if it doesn’t fit. Then again, I remain open to revisiting a piece of art/music/writing at a time when I might be better able to receive it. Sometimes, it really is a journey. (Side note: love the tangerine/violet combo at the end.)

Danielle

Excited for this! Also my own answer is: I usually don't!

Liz Av

Oh I'm really looking forward to this!

Liz Mednick