Art Appreciation Guide: Nature of Art, Interpretations, and Pleasures
Appreciating art was an exclusive advantage for a few privileged for more than hundreds of years. Though art became increasingly available to the mass as time passed, the barrier of art appreciation persists undeniably. The barrier is an inability to comprehend beyond the physical form of an artwork. Understanding art is the premise of having access to intellectual pleasure. The purpose of this post is to equip readers with mandatory information to understand an artwork and appreciate its physical and conceptual beauty. The information that grants access to the pleasure is derived from Aristotle’s Poetics, the principle of the art of drama that contains his conception of fine art, and gained knowledge from studying art history, humanities and philosophy.
Nature of Art
According to Aristotle, “Art imitates an action.” This statement means an artwork is a visual representation of human activity. Through Aristotle’s claim, readers can deduce that an art is intangible in a physical form. Therefore, an artwork is comprised of two fundamental parts: theme and visual medium. A theme is an idea that motivates an artist to create the artwork.
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Regardless of the source, an artist brings a chosen idea to life by materializing it into a physical form through their craft. Then the artist presents it to viewers for their appreciation. An artwork is conduit that shows an idea conceived by artists. It informs and entertains viewers. Understanding and appreciating the idea enables viewers to contemplate about their values and the world around them. Though not all viewers are capable at understanding an idea behind an artwork, the idea penetrates to their conscious subliminally.
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Conclusion
True beauty of visual art exists in its idea beyond sight. Recognizing and understanding the represented idea offers intellectual pleasure, a true treasure to pursue as an existence possessed with intellectual capacity. The main ideas of this guide are summarized and uploaded as image format for portability. Please remember and save them for your advantage and propagate them to art enthusiast communities on and offline.
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Art Appreciation Guide: Nature of Art, Interpretations, and Pleasures
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