To Each Their Own
I recently got asked the question of why I like art museums/art.
And that’s a hard question for me to answer. Because for me, there’s just something special about certain art pieces that just captivate me. I have nothing too specific I can say besides that. Certain things just grab my whole attention.
The most distinct time I remember being captivated by a painting was when former President Barack Obama’s presidential portrait was revealed.
To me, there’s just something so special about this portrait. Someone could argue that it’s just another painting. It’s just shapes and colors on a canvas of some kind. And they’re not wrong, but I think there’s so much more than that. To use these colors and shapes in a certain way really makes me feel something. It can be intrigue or awe or respect or disgust or shock, but art is more than just a superficial thing to look at. To me, art is a story. Sometimes the story won’t be that interesting, sometimes the story won’t be told to me and I have to make it up, and sometimes it just stuns me.
And sometimes, things fall flat. In a given art museum, there will be a good chunk of the pieces where I have little to no interest in it, but I think that’s fine. The whole concept of fine art is pretty much a scam (I can talk about it more later) and art itself can be so objective depending on who you are. I think for me, art is just something we can like just based on feeling. It’s like how I choose songs based on how they sound and feel, I like visual art based on how they look and feel. Sometimes they look nice but I’m just not feeling it or vice versa, but that’s okay. I think even learning to respect the artist and their accomplishment is something in itself. To be able to think beyond what is in front of you and think about the time and dedication these people into these pieces, you have to respect that.
However, art isn’t for everyone, at least not yet. For some people, art just does not convey much to them and that’s okay. That was just me until a few years ago. But for those people, I do hope you can have my Obama portrait moment for yourself.
