Should art explain itself?
Print Edition
What鈥檚 the point of art? And more to the point, should art explain itself?
I was on the panel for a mental health-meets-art event called Canvas of Emotions. It鈥檚 a creative concept, and proceeds go toward subsidized counseling with Community Center Shanghai. My role as a panelist was to ask questions to artists and suss what their artworks were about. It got me thinking.
We鈥檝e all stood in a gallery looking up at some masterpiece feeling lost. But because we鈥檙e dignified creatures, we don鈥檛 admit this. We tilt our heads, stare long enough to appear engaged, and then wander off bemused. Would we benefit from being told what art was about? And where should the line between explanation and interpretation be drawn?
I chatted with Ben Growden, founder of The Kulture Space and curator of Canvas of Emotions. An artist himself, to Ben it鈥檚 OK for people to interpret art how they want, but they won鈥檛 always know what it鈥檚 about.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a TV program. If I watch the first episode and it doesn鈥檛 connect, then how can I watch the rest of the series,鈥 Ben said.
For Paul, also an artist, personal interpretation is more important. 鈥淲hatever feelings a piece of art arouses in you can鈥檛 be wrong. Whether it matches the artists intentions or not, feelings are instinctive. If you need to be told how to feel, then the art isn鈥檛 working.鈥
Meanwhile, Eason, an art enthusiast and counselor, believes that both the artist and the audience are equally important.
鈥淎rt is personal and also a form of expression which can transcend time and space,鈥 he said, 鈥渟peaking heart to heart.鈥
So, I questioned myself. If something is lost in the reveal, why am I part of a series of events aiming to unravel what artwork is about? Canvas of Emotions is special. The room was filled with a collective desire to know more about the artists and their work. Who wouldn鈥檛 want the opportunity to question the experiences, techniques, choices and motivations of a creative? Can you honestly say that given the opportunity to dig around in the minds of Banksy, Hurst, Emin, Picasso or Van Gogh, you wouldn鈥檛? While interpretation is one thing, there鈥檚 something delicious about having secrets revealed.
Religion does this well. Religious artworks remind us of two things: what there is to love and what there is to fear or hate. Philosopher Alain de Botton discusses this point. In the secular world we think art is important, it鈥檚 even said that galleries are our new cathedrals. To Botton, there鈥檚 potential but we鈥檝e let ourselves down. There are two ideas hovering in the modern world that inhibit our ability to draw strength from art. The first being that art should be for arts sake, and second, art mustn鈥檛 explain itself.
Religions have a saner approach; they tell us what art is about. Essentially, it鈥檚 propaganda. That word sets off alarm bells, but propaganda is a way of being educational and if that thing is good, there鈥檚 no problem. Botton believes museums should mimic religions and make spaces where pieces are arranged so artworks speak clearly. In this way, art would be a tool to improve ourselves with communicative support.
Denis, a panelist at this month鈥檚 Canvas of Emotions agrees with Botton. 鈥淪ome clue around what the creator was thinking or feeling can help to elicit a response and reach a wider audience. But in the end, the final interpretation will always come from the viewer. In summary, I kind of agree with Botton.鈥
While some find lengthy blurbs useful, others will argue that the freedom to interpretation is where beauty lies. I can鈥檛 tell which side I鈥檓 on. I guess it comes down to what we mean by 鈥渦seful.鈥 Is art there to teach or to touch? Or can it do both without us knowing the first thing about it?
Either way there is connection to be found on the surface of a canvas, and whether we know what it鈥檚 trying to say, we must trust our emotions. If a piece doesn鈥檛 speak to you, it isn鈥檛 the one for you. What is art to some is mess to others. That difference is OK. And, like all areas of life, two things can exist at once. There鈥檚 freedom in being left alone with a piece, there鈥檚 also enlightenment in learning about it.
I will be at the next Canvas of Emotions, and I invite you to join me. Whether you believe in explanation or interpretation, it鈥檚 a rare moment in which we get to question creative minds and their motivations. Until then, take a leaf out of Ben鈥檚 book. Notice what鈥檚 around you. For him, art is everywhere. Be curious, and who knows what you鈥檒l uncover.
Mystery coats love, life, death and everything in between. We don鈥檛 have to know everything about anything to appreciate it. But a little help goes a long way.
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