Minute wrote:You think? I've often wondered about that. Had I been exposed or educated in the area would I then have a sudden appreciation for it. More so, would be an educated appreciation or an honest one? In other words, when I looked at something or heard some poetry would I know what to look for and thus understand it, or is it just something inside certain people that is moved the right way?
I will say that I find myself looking for meaning behind the surface. I just don't necessarily see it like others do.
It's a possibility. One of the largest issues with the interpretation of artistic expressions is the problem of context. When we respond to the works of another person, or even that of the natural world, we see it through our own unique concept of how the world is. We each have our own pattern of needs and experiences, and will respond to any given experience differently, according to how it fits into our pattern of needs and experiences.
A well designed literature or art appreciation class generally exists to supply you with the means to extend your base context to a more inclusive context, in order to understand what the author or artist intended to convey. Once that context is supplied, however, you still have to provide your own reaction, reframed to your own understanding. It is not less natural, but requires another layer of abstraction from your daily experience. The largest barrier, however, is generally the refusal to even attempt to extend context. Usually, this gets seen in: "I don't like that kind of stuff." Or "Art's pointless, it sucks."
The older I get, the more I seem to 'get' classical art. I don't think it's changing, just me.
