Thursday, September 20, 2012

Modern Art- First Impressions

So, one of my classes for my last semester of college (WOOT! WOOT! WOO....wait, a job?? What's that?) is History of Modern Art. The class is pretty fascinating, covering the advent of the modern movement in the 19th century to it's.... whatever it's at right now. Yeah.

Please keep in mind that I have not completed the course and (even when I do) I have not a complete knowledge of the history of art. That would take... more time than I have to invest.

Just to let you all know, I am a hater of modern art. It's weird and boring and depressing and I'm not here to find out about the personal psychosi of the artist and I just wanna see something beautiful, damnit! So most of modern art is not only alien, but it's offending. I took the Modern Art class because it was required but also to see why art has become the domain of the snobbish and obscenely rich.

What I've discovered so far has not helped.

Turns out that the reason why this whole thing started was because international trade on a huge scale began, and so art began to be swapped around the nations. The art that took Europe by storm was Japan. So a lot of artists abandoned their training and started to emulate the woodcuts of Japan. They wanted to do this because it was beautiful, something I can appreciate. Abandoning a rule set to do something good is something I can appreciate and like.

I mean, wow, that's beautiful!
The issue I think I have is when the artists decided to abandon form, because warping the form is clearly not the problem. Technically no artist has ever faithfully rendered the human form ever, Michelangelo and the Greeks included! But going away from form and making... this?

Jackson Pollock, Number 8, BTW'S

It's paint splatters, nothing more. He's not describing anything in the painting. "But, but his artist's statement! You need that!", I hear the modern artist crying. Here's a secret, you guys: no one gives a shit. "Educate" me all you like, you're not going to get rid of my common sense observation that an object that I view is complete and total, and should require little to no explanation, cultural explanations excepted. The un-educated, unwashed masses know this, and I see no reason why I should have to raise from their unwashed level, smelly as they are, because I'm making art for them.

So please, keep your deep explanations of the meaning of reality, keep your hatred of the established Western order, keep your "we're educated so we know better" crap and shove it where the sun don't shine, cause that's where it belongs.

...how's THAT for diplomacy, people?

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