Engaging with Art

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Johnny comes home from work late. He feels tired and decides to spend the night relaxing in front of the tv and entertain himself with some shows. His cable company offers him around a hundred tv channels. He taps the remote control until through the variety of programs he finds something familiar and appealing. He is soon engulfed by the plot to the point that the tv show provides a comfortable escape from his stressful life.

There are many similar forms of passive entertainment he could have chosen from: internet browsing, gallery shopping, concert going, music, etc. The consumer can decide to commit to being entranced by a specific piece of art or discard it and search for a new way to pass the time. Due to the high volume of art, we often do not have enough time to really see and analyze what is surrounding us and art ends up simply providing an experience. As a result, active art consumption is possible only when we attempt to find moral meaning in art and engage with the ideas that it presents. Therefore, art criticism needs to be concerned with an artwork’s morality to be able to understand its value because ubiquitous contemporary media supplies cultural ideas that need to be scrutinized from a point of view that analyzes their implications beyond consumerist values such as materialism and entertainment. The ability to choose gives us the impression that we are engaging with the art, but our choices are active only when they are based on critical analysis of the work rather than the experience that it provides. When we stop engaging with the ideas, we allow our entertainment to run free and promote whatever it wants. Critics need to orient the consumers and help them understand the consequences of their art choices.

Ju...

... middle of paper ...

...considered in a moral context.

. Artistic value transcends ideas about instant gratification, art is relevant and influential when we derive meaning from it, that is why criticism can be helpful in understanding its value. Criticism turns us from consuming drones to active thinkers. Critics are entitled to their opinions and a society’s disagreement with a critic has been more impactful at times. There are many points of view and conclusions.

Works Cited:

http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2013/03/22/a-bizarre-exhibit-in-a-foreclosed-home-that-was-turned-into-a-galleryis-now-in-a-gallery

http://cityarts.info/2013/10/16/cant-trust-it/

http://jeffhurtblog.com/2014/02/18/neuroscience-of-networking-why-networking-matters-your-conference/

http://www3.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/artapp1.htm

http://www.philosophypathways.com/essays/thorpe2.html

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