Author Topic: Art Appreciation  (Read 1153 times)

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Art Appreciation
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2021, 12:00:48 AM »
I haven't thought a lot about Chagall, but looking at those windows got me curious. Just a shallow dive for now, but he was making every kind of art, I just wonder, with a touch of melancholy and disappointment at myself, over how some of these artists just DID IT, went all out, made these incredible bodies of works (this sentences has too many commas).

I just from browsing on his site, this was struck me.

A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

smirnoff

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Re: Art Appreciation
« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2022, 10:44:38 AM »
I'm positing this quote here since it's related to the subject of art appreciation/criticism.

Much mischief is done in the world with very little interest or design. He that assumes the character of a critick, and justifies his claim by perpetual censure, imagines that he is hurting none but the author, and him he considers as a pestilent animal, whom every other being has a right to persecute; little does he think how many harmless men he involves in his own guilt, by teaching them to be noxious without malignity, and to repeat objections which they do not understand; or how many honest minds he debars from pleasure, by exciting an artificial fastidiousness, and making them too wise to concur with their own sensations. He who is taught by a critick to dislike that which pleased him in his natural state, has the same reason to complain of his instructor, as the madman to rail at his doctor, who, when he thought himself master of Peru, physicked him to poverty. - Samuel Johnson



I must admit, I have certainly before had the experience of liking a thing less having encountered a piece of criticism against it. Something which I had previously quite enjoyed. I do find I am pretty careful these days about what I expose myself to.

One of the better decisions I think I have ever made in this regard was tuning off anything Game of Thrones related (sometime during the first season). Originally that decision was made simply because I wanted to avoid spoilers. I'd skip forward 5 minutes during any podcast where GoT came up and keep skipping until the subject was changed. If I encountered a meme that had some GoT content I would quickly scroll past it to have it out of my view. If google or any other source pushed a GoT related article or video at me I'd close the tab. I even avoided talking about the show with friends. It was actually quite a tough thing because the show was so big, and went on so long, and it was everywhere.

But at some point too I just knew I was enjoying the show and I didn't want anyone to spoil it. Not only spoil it with plot details, but also spoil it with their own baggage. "I think Rob Stark is badly cast" or some other thing I don't need to hear. A seemingly small thing, and maybe I was being to extreme, but I didn't even want to think about the fact that Rob Stark was a character played by an actor. Because how does that help? It doesn't enhance my enjoyment or immersion.... in fact it does the opposite.

Movies at least are comparatively short and reach a conclusion prior to this sort of exposure. Your enjoyment (if you've been so lucky as to enjoy something) has time to solidify.

But I feel like GoT was a show whose fanbase destroyed itself through an accumulation of criticisms from 10 million voices at once. Subsequently I've read the criticisms. It really does read like "minds excited to an artificial fastidiousness". I recognize it from my own pedantic tendencies, which I've targeted against other content.

I do often find myself asking if X is the reason I dislike a thing, or if I dislike a thing and am pinning it on X because that's what I noticed. I think the truth is that quite often I don't know why I don't like a thing, and I'm just trying to formulate an explanation that rings true. I think I've gotten better about that over the years and find there's more honesty in my reviews that have less conviction.

GoT counts among the great things I've had the pleasure of seeing (and re-seeing). But as I said, I have subsequently allowed myself some small amount of exposure to the chatter out there. I learned what a disaster many people considered the show, in particular it's concluding seasons (this genuinely shocked me). I learned about supposed Starbucks mugs left in shots. I learned peoples opinions about the writers/producers and speculations about why the show supposedly went off the rails. And as much as I love the show, and find that opinion to be quite solid in my mind, I know nothing is invincible. So I don't allow myself too much time to probe into these things.

All that is to say, I just love this quote from Samuel Johnson. I just wanted to share it.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2022, 10:48:42 AM by smirnoff »

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Art Appreciation
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2022, 02:24:40 AM »
Bookmarking this for further consideration. Should have more to say once I finish moving.

Will say that my dad and I are going through the first six Star Wars films, and we watched The Phantom Menace tonight, a film I think I'm supposed to dislike. So yeah, more to be said.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

 

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