The Role of Culture in the Int
Art plays a very important role in our society. Most individuals enjoy art of some form, whether it is a painting, an opera, or a carefully crafted statue. Reactions to art also vary from person to person. People may argue over whether a piece of art is inherently good or bad, beautiful or ugly. It is a common assumption that art is subjective. People judge art based on their own definition of beauty. This gives the art a certain aesthetic value to the viewer. Most of those who view art do so for this purpose only; once they have found something that looks "good," most are ready to check out. However, I would agree with those who aspire to look deeper into art, those who believe that there is meaning behind art, and that the artist deliberately incorporates this meaning into his or her work. What a piece of art means can often times be more important than how it looks. Instead of simply judging whether a piece of art is aesthetically pleasing or not, the observer should react to the messages authors send through their creations. This type of reaction to art is much more complicated and undefined. When reacting to the meaning of a piece of art, the basic values, beliefs, and ideology viewers posses affect how they see t
he art. Two people looking at the same painting in a museum may see two entirely different pictures. Native Americans will react to a painting of a dead buffalo differently than a Yugoslavian because the history of these two cultures is so different. A person's reaction to art cannot be simplified into aesthetic preferences. Fundamental cultural beliefs, customs, and ideology greatly affect how individuals react to art. When individuals choose to react to art based on the assumption that there is intentional meaning behind it, they judge the quality of this art based on their knowledge of the specific cultural aspects associated with that particular work of art. As John Berger argued in "Ways of Seeing," one's reaction may also change once he or she learns more about the art. We cannot judge art based only on what is beautiful or ugly, because beauty is purely objective. Nor can we look at something from another culture, something foreign and confusing, and pass judgement about art that we don't understand. In order to fully appreciate art, we must become aware of the conditions under which the art was created, and only then can we make a fair interpretation. Some will argue that there is no need to understand the culture associated with a piece of art in order to tell if they like it or not. A common view is that all art doesn't necessarily have a meaning; the goal of the artist is simply to create something that looks good, not to convey a deeper idea. However, Navajos will still find "Mother Earth Father Sky" more beautiful than my classmates or I because they have more supporting informati
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Approximate Word count = 1090
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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