When The Art Says More About The Viewer

One artwork in college upset me. It was an abstract student piece on the museum wall.

I didn’t understand it. At the time, I hated minimalism and abstract art. “This isn’t art!” I would bemoan. 

I looked at the title and description for any clues. 

The description read something along the lines, “This painting means what you want it to mean. If I tell you anything about it, you’ve missed the point.” 

How is it, 20 years later, this stands out to me? 

For years I remembered the artist’s comment and felt offended. I’d think, “how lazy of them to write such a thing.” “This truly is not art.” 

But then something changed. 

I started to think about it more. And I realized something.

Good art says much more about the viewer than the art itself. What was my response teaching me about…me? Look at my lack of love for another artist! Look at how I look down on another for their skill-level. Look at how fickle my emotions are that I took so personally a little comment from an unknown artist.