Thursday, April 18, 2013

Reiner 5

Art as Representation that MIGHT lead to an Aesthetic Experience
Alex Reiner
Entry 5 - 2/19


As an art historian the question is always pending when I view and interpret art as to whether I'm interpreting the piece as the artist intended, or even if the artist wanted the viewer to interpret the art on their own.  For some pieces the interpretation is easy, but for pieces like Dali's Persistence of Memory or basically the entire Abstract Expressionist movement, the art, also defined as the creator's representation of a thought or idea, is almost entirely up to the viewer to interpret and experience.  It is in these cases which art as a representation may or may not lead to an aesthetic experience. 
I also wonder how much the viewer's experience, whether aesthetic or otherwise, is shaped by the viewer's personal state.  For example, if I was having a very emotional day and walked in to a Holocaust memorial museum, I would definitely be moved by the pieces.  Is this experience aesthetic or something else?  And does everyone need to have an aesthetic experience in order for the artist's representation to be true and considered art? 

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