More Than Brushstrokes

  Often times when people view contemporary or modern art they have a predictable reaction. They'll scoff at it wondering how something so elementary could be hanging in a museum while making remarks along the lines of "My two-year-old could paint better than this." or, "What does it mean?" Now the question, "What does it mean?" is something that everybody is asking themselves constantly. Although you're not aware, your brain is constantly trying to answer this question, everything you see, read, or hear your brain is trying to understand. 

  I think that people prefer to look at realism, romanticism and even surrealism because it's easier for them to come up with a meaning. It's acceptable to look contemporary and or modern art and come to the conclusion that it has no meaning or that it's so preposterous that there is no point in thinking about it. This is how most people are looking at art, in my opinion, they go in looking for a meaning. 

  If you can change that way you look at art and try to remove that mindset of searching for a meaning art becomes much more enjoyable. If you can except the fact that you're not going to understand every piece of art you see, and that you're not going to relate to every piece either, you can start to appreciate art for the unknow meaning behind it. All artwork has meaning, and every artist has something they want to say. Whether an artist chooses to speak to us through careful brushstrokes and delicate details, a black square, or a misshapen face, we should appreciate and respect the hidden meaning behind every piece of artwork.  

Untitled by Jean-Micheal Basquait 

The Desperate Man by Gustav Courbert