Experts tell us how to learn, to understand modern art, and in general — why an ironing board? The same as the one we have at home, in a museum can be fenced and cost several million dollars.
Yes, such modern art often causes the viewer indignation, misunderstanding and resentment. Critics only add fuel to the fire by talking about some kind of “the author’s desire for something different” or “a deep discourse of social hermeneutics.”
How to begin to understand the modern art
The good news is that modern art is easy to understand — much easier than the works of classical masters. Rembrandt could paint a picture for years. He encodes complex messages in the gestures and colors of his characters’ clothes, which experts still argue about.
Against this background, the works of Modern artists do not require special education and dozens of books are read. To enjoy the still lives of Wolfgang Tillmans. Firstly, you need no more special knowledge than for the pleasure of contemplating a tree branch on a sunny morning. When the shadow of it falls on your face, you suddenly realize that this moment will never happen again.
What to look for in modern art
Modern artists do not work with secret messages and complex signs, but with what surrounds us every day. For example, everyday things and what these things mean to us. Two ironing boards of Iza Genzken — one, as if ready for ironing. The second, playfully decorated with fabrics and flowers — will say a lot to any of us who at least once in his life looked longingly at a mountain of un-ironed linen.
These works are often just fun games. They offer us another look from the outside at what has accumulated in our memory from hundreds of newspaper headlines, public people, and momentary moods about the nightly news. So, for example, the rogue Maurizio Castellan works with his Hitler asking for forgiveness. Moreover, a horse suspended from the ceiling or the Pope nailed to the floor by a meteorite.
Often the works of artists are so open that we understand these works in advance, without realizing it ourselves. For example, if Andy Warhol were alive today, we are sure that more than one stencil with Shrek or the heroes of the Avengers movie would come out of his “Factory”.
How do you learn to understand modern art?
We have compiled a list of simple but optional rules:
- Don’t be nervous — remember, any work of a modern artist is not a complicated puzzle;
- Control your perception — see what the work is made of, what color it is, and what feelings are caused by this color or this material;
- Prepare a little bit in advance — there are works and artists, to get acquainted with which you need to read a little about them in advance. For example, it’s one thing to just look at Yves Klein’s blue canvases, but it’s quite another to know that this is a special, patented blue color, and the paint on the canvas was applied by naked models with their bodies;
- Pay attention to the names and descriptions of the works — do you agree that your perception will change if you learn an additional information about the author and the name of this artwork;
- Read more about art — but not art history books or articles in thick magazines, but resources that you like yourself. For example, reviews of exhibitions or even popular books;
- Train more to look at Modern art — for example, come to the exhibition in your city and hire a tour guide to learn more about the artworks and the authors.