Five Ways of Viewing Art Jacob Voelker
I.
As a Monolith
The way you generally like art but wonder when your art history major girlfriend will get her fill. Really, how much time can you spend in a museum before all the pieces start to look the same?
II.
As a Means to an End
Art is seldom praised for its functionality and pragmatism. Quite the opposite, in fact—critics of art (not to be confused with art critics, who unnecessarily dislike art for different reasons) are quick to ridicule creative expression for its reputation as a leading cause of moving back in with your parents at twenty-six. The lack of social mobility experienced by artists is cited in an attempt to emphasize the insignificance of their work. Of all the flawed rhetoric to be sifted through in the comments section of an Instagram post, perhaps the most alarming is the unilateral definition of function—for something to serve a function, it must in some way promote financial prosperity and allow the individual to ascend the social ladder. This inseparable association between what we make and what we make (physically and fiscally, respectively) is the foundation of several arguments made by critics of art and is why said critics are doomed to lives of emotional turmoil and an unrealized ability to self-analyze. I’m kidding about that last part, but art serves as means to ends that don’t involve an influx of wealth. A defining characteristic of art is its ambiguity, its openness to interpretation. This is often used at the individual level when discussing the thematic intricacies of a particular piece, but the broader concept of art is a very personal thing, as personal as experience itself. What might this
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