Understanding Art ,10th edition

Book Preface

There is a note of frustration in Picasso’s statement, reflecting perhaps the burden of having to explain his paintings to viewers who were trying desperately to understand them. Perhaps he was concerned that some of the “indescribable” in art—that which mesmerizes, enchants, frightens, and delights—would be, quite literally, lost in translation. Maybe he was guarding against affixing meaning to his work that he as the artist never intended. Picasso seems to suggest, in this quote, that mystery enhances experience and that too much knowledge will compromise the authenticity of the relationship between art and the viewer. Do you think Picasso was right?

Here we are, embarking together on the study of art and art history between the covers of a book called Understanding Art. Maybe we can declare Picasso’s view half right, and it can serve as our cue for how to confront what we are about to see. A textbook on art is not like a textbook in other academic disciplines. Yes, there is a special vocabulary of art. Yes, this vocabulary is woven into a language that, once learned, enables us to better verbalize the visual. But the most important aspect of an art book is its images, because a student’s journey toward understanding art ought always to begin with looking.

Think of this art appreciation textbook as your “i-book”—it begins with looking at images. Having said that, learning to look is equally important for art appreciation, and that’s where some other “i-words” play an important role: information, insight, and interpretation. We gather information about how a work of art is conceived and constructed using elements, design principles, composition, content, style, and symbolism. We explore the motives of artists and the historical, social, political, and even personal contexts in which a work of art came into existence. These investigations will lend insight into the complex factors contributing to the creation of works of art. And as we gather confidence in our knowledge and insights, we will turn more comfortably to the dimension of interpretation—your dimension. It is here where the “I” really counts, for we all bring the weight of our own experience to our interpretations, our unique perceptions to our likes or dislikes of a work of art.

Picasso said, in the same interview, “People who try to explain pictures are usually barking up the wrong tree.” The words explain and understand, though, have very different meanings. One can argue that only artists can explain their work, can make intelligible something that is not known or not understood. But understanding is defined as full awareness or knowledge that is achieved through an intellectual or emotional process—including the ability to extract meaning or to interpret. The ability to appreciate, or to perceive the value or worth of something from a discriminating perspective, then, is the consummate reward of understanding.