Are they the only ones who 'get' it?

Question

Just visited Tate Modern and am completely lost and I was good at art. John Constable, yes- it's a painting. What is this stuff, what exactly am I supposed to get that they get?

Answer 1

The stuff at the Tate modern is all a big joke on the rest of us and means nothing - look at when Tracey emin placed a messy bed in the middle of the floor and called it "art"
Its all a piss take and people who subscribe pretend to "get" it so that they can sneer at the people that don't (IE everyone really) to feel that little bit superior
i remember when the old hidden camera show "candid camera" had an exhibition of a "new" artist who was supposed to be brilliant etc etc, all of the so called experts and art critics were invited to a gallery to look at the utter rubbish on display.
They uttered gems like "oh yah, I really understand what hes trying to say here" and "gosh the dichotomy of light and colour is terrific".
When the show revealed that the "art" was in fact the result of a group of chimpanzees allowed to run riot with paint (im not making this up - check it out if you want) they all covered their faces and fled out of the gallery
Busted!

Answer 2

I used to think this then went to the Saatchi Gallery. Some shocked me, some were funny, some were clever, some I didnt get but on the whole I loved it and it totally turned me around...

It's hard to compare Constable with a Chapman painting but I guess it's a just matter of taste. You either like it or you don't.

Check out Chapman Brothers, Tracy Emin, Damien Hirst, etc

Answer 3

There are some people who don't 'get' classical music either.

When you listen to pop or country music the singer and songwriter provides all the information you need because they are basically telling you what to think and how to feel while listening to their song.

Classical music asks you to think, asks you to provide your own emotional depth and insight.

Modern art works much the same way.

Those who prefer being told what to think from a song will also prefer being told what to think with a painting.

While it is true that some modern artists are 'con-artists' this is not the case with most new art.

Answer 4

Take a look at the modern movemant starting with Picasso. The thing that caused it was the camera. What is the point of painting something you can actually get a photo of? That is what they looked at. When a lady told Matisse in one of his paintings that the arm was too short he told her "Madam that is not an arm but a painting of an arm".

Do your own thing is the extension of the ridiculous here. It leads to no standards at all.

Answer 5

Maybe you could take a class in contemporary and modern art to try and open your mind. Learning is a good thing. When impressionism was starting, the masses hated it. Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime because people didn't "get it".

Answer 6

I guess it depends on your definition of art. I often feel that 'they' are the only ones who get it ... for instance calling it art when putting a crucifix in a jar of urine, calling it art when an elephant picks up a paintbrush & dabs paint on a canvas, etc.

Answer 7

i think that modern arts main use us that you can project your own emotions onto their workand convince yourself that that is what they meant and not just what you want to see

modern art is about the beauty of the basic and the hidden meanings in the simplistic

i prefer realistic/naturalistic stuff, but i can see the point of some modern stuff

Answer 8

A politician once told me that everyone was
milling around, completely lost. He picked up
a banner and marched boldly forward shouting
"Follow me".
And do you know what? Singing happily, they all did.

Answer 9

Don't waste your time or money looking at anything modern. It means nothing and its going nowhere. Just do your own thing.

Answer 10

yes