Appreciating ART

Topic started by Udhaya (@ 63.89.188.180) on Mon Sep 17 14:02:48 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I’m not a student of art. I’m not a painter. I’m just a novice art lover who appreciates paintings for how they affect me. I have often found myself unable to explain why something affects me about a certain painting. I go to art museums at least couple of times a year and frequently wade through the internet art galleries. I have my favorites and I have come across those that puzzle or intrigue me.

Recently I visited the San Jose Museum of Art and noticed a marvelous addition to the gallery: comments by visitors on what they felt about each piece. The museum had reproduced some comments and left the rest right by the paintings for perusal. I can honestly say I learned more from reading visitors’ comments on the paintings than if the artist or a curator had tried to explain it to me.

I have condensed the questionnaire that the museum had to initiate a beginner or a rusty art fan. But you certainly don’t have to limit yourself to these questions or adhere to each one. This is just a place to start.
-What’s the first thing you noticed? Why?
-What colors, shapes, and lines are used?
-How do they lead you through the work?
-What are your head and heart telling you?
-Does it move you? How?
-What do you see that makes you think and feel this way?
-Does it absorb, generate or reflect light?
-Where is it still? Where do you see movement?
-What else was happening in the world when it was made?
-What do you see that reflects or rejects its time?
-How does it differ from your experience? Are you reflected in this work?
-What do you see?

My humble hope is that you all would open yourselves up to the paintings and open my understanding of the painting as well. Let’s all discover the mystery and majesty of art. Let’s begin using the following gallery and we can add other ones as people point them out.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/

The above is the best webmuseum that I have found. This thread is not limited to Western art alone. Art from anywhere in the world can be discussed, the only criteria is that the art piece should be available on the web and preferably scales to at least half the screen in a monitor


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