Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Cultural

Yesterday I visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Since I always feel a bit lost in these grand places, I was grateful to find a “highlights” brochure. I located my goal: a Da Vinci painting, highlighted as the only one in North America. I started strolling, generally heading towards my final destination, with intent to see other things on my way there (by getting a bit lost). Then I found a sequence of galleries with works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Gauguin, and Degas, feeling fortunate for my luck.  Looking around the room I noticed a kid and her mother, each next to a different painting, excitedly trying to get each other to come to her painting because “it’s Picasso’s!”. Then it struck me.

Like brand names of clothing, where we are manipulated to believe what we should wear, what is better quality, etc., we are manipulated into thinking what will make us “cultural”, if you can even define this adjective. Why do we need to see these works at the museum or know these artists’ names? This kid and her mother were merely putting check marks on their cultural “shopping lists”, to be able to say, “I saw it”. I don’t analyze art to its every brush stroke, and I usually don’t stare at the same painting, or any piece of art, for more than a few minutes (as I noticed a man did, for at least half an hour, as I passed by him twice, he was in the exact same position and posture). I do find some of these famous works to my taste and even admire the technique. But I do not worship every painting that was produced by their hands, merely because it’s theirs. Which makes me disappointed at times, because with these “brands” comes expectation for something grand. But that is not always the case. Will this make me pass on their works next time at the museum? Probably not, but I would feel less obliged to make an effort to find meaning in them, and more inclined to note the names of other artists whom I enjoyed more.

In the same context, another thing to point out, connecting to limitations made by our knowledge, is that we are limited by what the museum finds appropriate to put on display. So even if I enjoy paintings by less famous artists, they are only less familiar. Meaning they are still “brand names” to someone with deeper art background than mine.


*Thanks to my father for reviewing my post.

1 comment:

  1. I think that what you are saying in this post is valid. Often times we force ourselves to like certain things, or even learn about certain things because of what we think we are supposed to do. I think this happens with many things. We see what others around us know and like, and we feel obligated to do the same. This is because we have made it seem like the people who aren’t “in the loop” are missing out, and wrong. But, why? Maybe they find beauty and interest in the work of someone less known, and everyone else is just missing out.

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