The Breath of Art

I never consider myself an art person. However, appreciating art may be the innate capability of every human being, and therefore, as a person with decent education, I fortunately succeed this capability and further more, enjoy doing this thanks to some part of my education. This is why I went to art museums today. Finally!

I love seeing those art works, because no matter I understand or not, various types of causal or irrelevant inspirations will be produced and sometimes even thrust into my head. Contemporary art is always hard for me to understand. My question is that what makes those art works which seem pretty simple and redoable hung there. For instance, there is a picture made up of numerous traces of ink. The guide introduced that the author of the work used a stick and just draw according to his subconsciousness. Yet this is so objective and explanation-directed. How could the views tell what the author was thinking about when he was inventing the painting, and why ours cannot be put in the gallery if we do the same thing. What makes the difference.

However, the biggest thing that differentiate contemporary art, according to my little understanding, is the function. Contemporary art, compared with traditional arts, is to exhibit the pragmatism and contemporary idea. Traditional arts are more focused within themselves, which means an art work is an art work itself; contemporary art becomes an art work with the help of, most often than not, its surroundings. That's means not only the work itself is involved, but also the wall it is hung on, even the person who is watching are part of it. It develops three-dimensionally, it often practice contrast and repetition. It is more concerned with idea and concepts rather than the expensiveness of the materials themselves.

When I left the gallery, still many of the works are not seen yet. I'm planning next time visit, with nice food and happy mood. When I have extra money, I would like to buy the art books in the bookstore, and do some reading there with a cup of coffee keeping me sober from the alcohol of art.