The question of whether or not art should be universal can feel derivative. It's like asking the question, is water wet? Here to discuss this grey area are ASU student artists and educators as they reflect on the role audiences and creatives play when engaging with art.
When examining the impact of art, you must consider two perspectives: the artist and the audience. You must look both at the art as an end product and the intentions set behind an artist's creation.
Mia Aronsohn, a freshman studying painting and drawing, said art is inherently universal, but that doesn't mean artists have to create with audiences in mind.
"Art doesn't necessarily need to be understood to be art," Aronsohn said. "It doesn't need to be anything renowned. It doesn't need to be saying something large. It doesn't need to be saying something that you can understand for it to be valid."
Latin artist Bad Bunny touched on this theme earlier this year with the release of his 6th studio album, "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS."
In a video interview with The New York Times, Bad Bunny said he doesn't care about the language and culture barriers fans might encounter with his music. This album has been defined as his "most Puerto Rican album" yet. Bad Bunny made this album with a specific narrative for a specific audience, and he is okay if the magic of his work is lost on a certain demographic.
As an artist, Aronsohn mirrors the belief that artists do not owe an audience understanding. She said it is counteractive to box art into one singular category for all.
"Art simply exists to exist," Aronsohn said. "If you notice it, if you admire it, if you resonate with it, that's a plus. But art exists only to exist."
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Chloe Fooshee, a junior studying film and media production, agrees with Aronsohn's sentiment, touching on the very few universal ideas that can be explored in art, such as love and the human experience.
"You realize that sharing your human experience is universal," Fooshee said. "People will always understand love and emotion, really."
Aronsohn and Fooshee both touched on the experience of making art in their respective mediums. Aronsohn said one of the joys of being an independent artist is creating for no one but herself.
"The good thing about being a small artist is that truly all of my art comes from me," Aronsohn said. "What do I want to make? What makes me happy to create?"
Fooshee echoed this statement with a twist, citing how film as a medium and a business does bear audiences more in mind.
"I still do take (audiences) into consideration because part of film is marketing yourself," Fooshee said. "I do have to somewhat package it very nicely."
Abby Schmid, a second-year graduate student studying art education, agrees with this general understanding that the responsibility to decode art falls upon the consumer.
Schmid said, as someone studying to be an educator, part of her job is explaining the process of interpretation to students, even when analyzing art pieces that are out of their cultural and historical background.
"The responsibility of interpreting a work of art is on the viewer," Schmid said. "You really have to go out of your way to experience forms of art from different time periods, but also, even more importantly, different cultures in different parts of the world... It helps you learn and grow to see the perspective of others expressed through art."
Art is, at its core, a personal expression, and that's what makes it so beautiful.
The relationship between artist and admirers isn't calculated; it's felt — two parties meeting in the middle to express and understand each other. Sometimes, that understanding might include thousands of people, sometimes, it might just be two.
"If you're not trying to understand the world, then you never will," Aronsohn said. "But if you have continuous effort, you might start to understand it, and you might start to look at it differently."
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at jagon128@asu.edu.
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Jazlyn is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her second semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio.
