What is your favorite painting? I know, we are not living through the Renaissance where art was considered one of the most significant fields of human life and these days not many people incorporate art in their life routine. But, still, I would like to insist asking you: do you have your favorite painting which somehow made you to fall in love immediately? And by painting, just to make sure that we are on the same page, I am talking about the paintings painted on canvas that you see when you go to museums like Museo del Prado and MoMA.
As I said, the importance of art in our lives is fading more and more as time goes on. Unlike our ancestors who almost revered artistic beauty, we are more... occupied--let's put it this way--by other things. Nowadays, when we meet someone who knows a lot of art pieces, we almost automatically associate her with adjectives such as 'posh', 'elegant', 'sophisticated', or 'luxurious'. Art museums and galleries are considered a great date spot, not a place where everyone casually goes during their lunch breaks, and we tend to associate the amount of wealth a person holds with the level of artistic knowledge he possesses. We think art is something difficult; something we have to study to fully enjoy; or even as something impossible to reach for those who have to maintain their living day by day, going to work before nine and coming back home after six.
But I think this is a pity: why is art regarded as something difficult and unapproachable? Well, let me rephrase the question: why did YOU start branding art as something difficult and unapproachable?
For me, art is one of the easiest things an individual can enjoy. Follow me through these bullet points to understand the reason why:
- Do art pieces include jargons like ceteris paribus, jus cogens, and pareto efficiency? The answer is 'No'.
- Do art pieces embarrass you by asking you difficult questions in public and continuously test your level of expertise? The answer is 'No'.
- Do art pieces require you to hold any certificate or diploma to access? The answer, of course, is 'No'.
- Do art pieces stop you and ask you to deliver your personal remarks with professional knowledge and elegant terms? Come on, they are sticked on the wall!
- Do art pieces make you to pay a lot of money every single time you glance at them? No--well, some people may argue that we have to pay to enter the museum, but actually we can take a look at Mona Lisa without going to Louvre if you have a smartphone or a laptop with internet connection. So, that argument cannot be valid.