Looking and Appreciating Art

Looking and Appreciating Art
by Kieran Shep

Note that I am not claiming that there is one correct check-list method of looking at art. I am merely suggesting ways to appreciate and experience art when visiting galleries, museums, and other art exhibitions and displays since this can sometimes be a daunting task.

Most won't admit it, but they don't know what to look for so I am here to offer some advice to avoid the two second glance at a visual piece, or the desperate attempt to find clarity in the exhibition label, or the excited face posing for a photograph next to an art piece they admire. There are ways however to fulfill the primary purposes of viewing a work of art- for the pleasure of the eyes, the appreciation and enlightenment a work of art can offer.

I will start with Lucien Freud's feelings when he visited the National Gallery of Art in London

"I use the gallery as if it were a doctor. I come for ideas and help -- to look at situations within paintings, rather than whole paintings. Often these situations have to do with arms and legs, so the medical analogy is actually right. Do you know the old story about the strip-cartoon writer who goes on holiday?

He leaves his hero chained up at the bottom of the sea with an enormous shark advancing from the left and a huge octopus approaching. And the man who takes over the job can't figure out how to get the hero out of danger, and after several sleepless nights, he finally sends a telegram to the writer, asking him what to do. And the telegram comes back: 'With one tremendous bound the hero is free.' Well, when I come here I'm looking for ways to get myself out of troubles that are self-made."

Second- Scanning an artspace is perfectly normal, there is no way that anyone can view every piece for several minutes nor are they interested in everything exhibited. Scan the place to see what you are most attracted to and go to that artwork.

Third- Try to understand what it is that attracted you to this piece (although beauty attracts many people and many artworks are beautiful, all art isn't beautiful so this might not be your primary reason for liking a particular piece.)

Fourth- Look up close and take steps back (circle around it if it's an installation or sculpture that allows for engagement at more than one special perspective.) Try to understand why a certain medium was used, how it feels like physically and how that relates to the visual product. If a painting look at the brush strokes, the edges between foreground, object and background, the color transitions, where does light come from, and how do you react emotionally to the way the piece presents itself.

If a sculpture or installation walk around it, think about the material, how it was made, how it interacts with the space it's in, what do the shapes look like, what effect does it have on you the viewer.

Fifth- After personal interaction with the piece on an emotional and raw level where only you interact according to your primary feelings, it can be helpful to contextualize. This means looking at the exhibition label, does its title reflect, change, or support the way you initially reacted to this art piece?

The curators of this exhibit put a lot of care and time in creating the labels or wall panel supporting the artwork through words so it can be helpful to read what their thoughts are as well as your own. Sometimes contextualizing and knowing how the art fits in historically can understand why it was special for its time, why people thought it was so original, and you may learn a bit of art history and ideas also occurring at the time this artwork was produced.

If you really like the artwork, it can help to keep a personal analog of artists or artworks you enjoy for future reference or expansion. For instance, you may want to see upcoming exhibits from this artist to know more about their art, or read up on articles to understand more about the process and what attracted you to their art in the first place. Resources like http://www.mutualart.com are fantastic for this type of artistic personal expansion. This can be useful for students (pretty much anyone who loves art), collectors, teachers, or dealers in the arts.

Lastly, once you've fully enjoyed a work of art move on to the next one that attracts your interest and you will be surprised to find you may be attracted to it for completely different reasons than the last one. It's a journey of self-discovery and visual pleasure so enjoyment is key. It's more important to appreciate a new pieces because it will be more memorable than to give 2 seconds to every artwork in a museum simply because you feel the need to step foot on every floor.