Art, by definition, cannot be defined. It is entirely subjective. But here's a thought: art is literally whatever you want it to be, as long as it invokes feeling. Art may exist in its physical form, but its significance lies in the way it makes the audience feel and think.
The term art has expanded to encompass various movements and displays of artistic style. So much so that leaving a pair of glasses on the floor of a gallery becomes subject to reflection as an art form. This instance, although humorous, ironically fits the concept of Dadaism, a movement to challenge the perception of traditional art.
Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, a hallmark of dada, is just an ordinary urinal. Its artistic value lies in its ability to provoke the audience- if I put an ordinary object on display, is it art? Most importantly, can an everyday object have the value of self reflection?
The easiest way to appreciate art is simple- reject the fact that real art only exists in the art world. Art exists outside the confines of the gallery space, and is present in what you see and hear. Art is an ordinary object, it is an everyday activity.
Currently displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Hélio Oiticia’s To Organize Deliriuminvites visitors to lie in hammocks while listening to Jimi Hendrix, dance around in garb to Brazilian music, file their nails while decompressing on blue mattresses, and walk around barefoot on sand and stone. It immerses the audience by inviting them to become more in touch with their senses through what is normally seen as mundane. It juxtaposes the actions and movements of everyday life with the esteem of the Whitney.
The perception of art, for most people, is clouded in pretentiousness. The images that come to mind, Rembrandt, Monet, Kandinsky, Picasso, although masters in their work, belong to an older generation. The artistry can be hard to truly appreciate for a novice eye, and also probably uninteresting to some. Although compelling, traditional art does not have a monopoly on what can be defined as such.
The treacherous concept that art has to be a certain way to be appreciated turns off potential audiences. It's 2017! Art is for everyone! It does not discriminate, it just wants to invoke thought. Keep an open mind, and leave your notions behind about who art is intended for or what it truly is, and try to feel something.
It doesn’t have to be in a museum, it’s everywhere if you keep your mind open to it. Appreciating art is appreciating life. It is enjoying the wall murals in SoHo, listening to the piano man in Washington Square, or the watching the city move from the shores in DUMBO. Art could literally be anything you want it to be, so long as you appreciate it what it brings out of you. If you look for it, you’re sure to find it.
As Meryl Streep, spiritual guide and general wonder woman, once said, “take your broken heart, make it into art”. Take your notions of what art is supposed to be and throw it out the window. Appreciate what makes you feel some type of way. I promis you will find art in interesting places.