The place: Denver Art Museum.
The exhibit: Modern Masters.
The artwork: Convergence by Jackson Pollock.
Me: Standing planted in front of the 13-foot painting, nearly in tears, with the security guard keeping a suspicious eye on me.
The overheard statement that riled my blood: "Really? This is art? I don't get it, my kid could do that." Add to that a roll of the eyes as the man walked away.
This was the scene when during my visit to the Modern Masters exhibit this past summer, as part of my internship with Denver Art Museum. I couldn't believe it. It angered me to see people simply dismissing such expressive and vivid artwork simply because the "don't get it."
My heart was pounding with frustration on the 30-minute drive home, and still kept going. Maybe the overwhelming emotion I felt from seeing these paintings in person had something to do with it. But I was generally upset.
The question I always get when I tell someone I am minoring in art history is, "So, why is that art?"
I get it. Art is weird and crazy and non-traditional right now. In fact, everything even remotely creative has been stretched and pulled to its outer limits, and sometimes beyond that. Anything and everything seems possible, so we try all of our crazy inventions and ideas to try to achieve the amazing things we dream of.
This is exactly what is happening in the art world. Artists are making statements and creating messages in the most abstract ways possible. They are trying to find something that has eluded artists for hundreds of years: the ultimate emotional stimulus.
My stock answer to the aforementioned question is that anything that can touch you, move you, make you feel something, is art. Whether it sends you into a floating sense of bliss or evokes your angry questioning of a certain topic, contemporary art will get to you.
So it is inevitable when people question whether splatters on a canvas is art. It's traditional to think that in some obscure ivory tower, a board of esteemed professionals see every piece that claims to be art and decide whether to validate it or not.
This is not the case.
Art is meant to make you sweep you off your feet, push your buttons and shake up your foundation. This was exactly the experience I found that summer afternoon in the museum. And without realizing it, so did the man rolling his eyes. He thought he was dismissing the art, when he was actually falling into its perfectly organized trap.
This semester, this blog will be dedicated to documenting the emotional experience of looking and experiencing art. I will record my feelings, thoughts, questions and more when viewing an entire exhibit, or just a single piece.
You may also read last semester's introductory post to see see just how much of an art freak I am. If you're not scared away by that, I'm excited for you to join me on this quest to answer the question:
"Why is that art?"
Tell me your thoughts and opinions on different artistic endeavors at mamccrea@asu.edu or via Twitter @mmccreary6.
