Is it that middle America doesn't like it, or they don't understand it right away and it's not worth the effort. A lot of art is complex and confusing by design. It is supposed to draw out a reaction. That is true if it is six parallel lines or a Jackson Pollock. Not everyone wants to bother figuring out the message. That's fine. B…
Is it that middle America doesn't like it, or they don't understand it right away and it's not worth the effort. A lot of art is complex and confusing by design. It is supposed to draw out a reaction. That is true if it is six parallel lines or a Jackson Pollock. Not everyone wants to bother figuring out the message. That's fine. But artists don't have to dumb it down to please those who don't care.
I find it especially frustrating to read critiques from people who have only seen a picture of the piece online or in a newspaper. It's impossible to experience the scope and magnitude of it that way. But.... everyone has the right to their opinion.
Your view is ahistorical. Art was commissioned to tell a story. That broke down in the early 20th century, when the response to WTF was “middle America doesn’t like it because they don’t understand it.” If the audience doesn’t understand the message, the problem is not the audience, it is the messenger.
Is it that middle America doesn't like it, or they don't understand it right away and it's not worth the effort. A lot of art is complex and confusing by design. It is supposed to draw out a reaction. That is true if it is six parallel lines or a Jackson Pollock. Not everyone wants to bother figuring out the message. That's fine. But artists don't have to dumb it down to please those who don't care.
I find it especially frustrating to read critiques from people who have only seen a picture of the piece online or in a newspaper. It's impossible to experience the scope and magnitude of it that way. But.... everyone has the right to their opinion.
Your view is ahistorical. Art was commissioned to tell a story. That broke down in the early 20th century, when the response to WTF was “middle America doesn’t like it because they don’t understand it.” If the audience doesn’t understand the message, the problem is not the audience, it is the messenger.