You Must Approach Art

A friend of mine sent me a picture. It was a portrait of a fictional character. Now, my friend sends me pictures quite often. I look at them. I appreciate them, and I move on. But this particular picture was different for me.

For one thing, it was exceptionally well-drawn. The quality was so good that I took more time to appreciate the picture. And during this period, I noticed the character's face. As I studied it, it first looked simply angry to me. But then I looked again and saw frustration. After that, I saw a sort of bitter sadness in it. Every time I looked, I kept seeing a different emotion.

Part of this experience was the lack of context. I don't know what is actually going on in the scene, nor do I know the background leading up to it. I had to guess at everything based on what I saw, but there were multiple possibilities that all seemed equally likely.

This picture was a great piece of art. I say this not because of the quality (although that is certainly part of it), but because of this whole experience it created. It challenged me to study, examine, and really think, all from a single portrait.

However, the art didn't reach out and force me to think. I thought because I approached the art. I didn't walk by it. I sat down and looked deeper. And in doing so, I found that there was something deeper in it.

I do not believe that all art is equal. Some pieces simply are better than others. But unless you approach a piece of art and look for the deeper substance, you will not see it.