I have always struggled with liking, understanding, and finding interesting what we classify as "modern art": surrealism, cubism, dadaism, and others. And the more and more I think about it, I become frustrated at the fact that modern art in a way has become so broad and so un-defined that, to me, it seems like almost anyone can get away with classifying themselves as an modern artist. I am not saying that art is only for the creative or for those of us that attend art school and conservatories, but art, just like sports, or law, or engineering is a study that takes practice, mentorship, creativity, and dedication.
I guess what I am thinking and what I'm trying to say are contradicting each other in a way because even a simple grey-painted canvas can have layers and layers of meaning for the artist, but at the same time a non-artist or someone who has not practiced and been mentored could do the same thing and call it art and this makes me laugh a little.
Walking through Le Centre Pompidou today, I realized a lot about myself and my relationship with modern art. I almost seem to be uncomfortable with it, because it intimidates me. It's too close to the kind of visual art I practice unlike impressionism and classicism. And by seeing these more recent works of art, I am constantly thinking critically about my own art. In a way I see modern art as a menace to my own own art. And it took a lot out of me to finally come to terms with this. However, I also cannot rap my head around the construction of some of these works.
One piece that I found myself quite angry at was of course and untitled piece by an artist that I hadn't cared about and didn't really want to know the name of anyway. It was a huge, about 3 meter by 2 meter canvas that was not even painted. I was livid!
"How is an unpainted canvas art work. How can you build a 3x2 canvas, not paint it, and put it in an art museum and feel you have the right to call that art?!" I thought.
I was shocked and even more shocked by the crowd gathered around this blank canvas. However, as I overheard a conversation between a daughter and her mother I heard that the canvas was supposed to "represent an open studio or a place for everyone to create there own work." The imagination is what creates the artwork and we utilize the physical quantities of color to represent imagination. At the moment the artist wanted to force the viewers to think about what could have been painted rather then what is painted and in this discovery I felt ashamed. Why was I so fast to critique? Why hadn't I thought of that? Because, this artist had practiced, been mentored, and spent likely hours or days trying to think of something to paint even as simple as not painting at all. And with a little explanation this painting became one of my favorite pieces in the museum immediately.
However, I do have to say the best art is the art that doesn't allow for or need explanation. The art that simply lets you think for yourself, is the most intra-personal and human art someone can make, because every human is different and every human mind is different. And therefore, forcing meaning upon the mind in a way is corruption and dictatorship over thought, while progress is found in freedom.
I learned a lot about my critical mind and art, and after today I definitely will be taking a trip back the museum of Contemporary art in Chicago and the Modern Wing of the Art Institute with a more open mind.
