Sometimes Art confuses me.

[Gypsy]

I like photographs. I understand them. And enjoy purchasing photographic art. I also like types of sculpture... especially glass work.

But there is a lot of 'art' I just don't get. Especially modern art. I have wanted to get some pieces (modest affordable stuff) for my walls in my home but... much of it seems like it would bore me after a while. And the rest of it just confuses me.

So I stick to nice photographs, or the occassional painting (usually something of nature and usually with vivid colors in a watercolor) that catches my eye.

My taste in furnishings has been moving from traditional to more modern, but my taste in wall art isn't going anywhere which leaves my home looking unfinished. Or with a lot of mirrors on the wall (I understand mirrors too).

Does art confuse anyone else?

 

[swingirl]

You need to find a nice local art gallery where you can pick a print or original art and have it framed to your liking.

Thrasher's in San Carlos.

 

[VRBeauty]

To me art is not a "head" thing, it's more of a "heart" or "gut" thing. I tend to prefer things that are more representational than abstract, but there have been times when I've found myself responding to very abstract pieces, especially paintings. Unfortunately in most cases my head didn't trust these gut reactions, and I passed up on the opportunity to buy some very nice pieces that I suspect I'd still like today.

If you're serious about expanding your art horizons to encompass more contemporary pieces, I'd second Swingrl's advice about local galleries, especially the ones that carry less established, potentially up-and-coming artists. You might check out the weekend arts and entertainment section of your local paper and pick out a few galleries that sound interesting, then sort of make a routine of visiting them every month or so. (Here in Sactown we have "second Saturday" art walks -- pretty much every gallery is open and premiers its new exhibits on the second Saturday evening of each month. It used to be a great way to check out the new exhibits at a lot of galleries in a single evening, but alas - it's gotten to be too big and crowded for my taste.) After a while you'll probably notice that you're more drawn to a handful of galleries. If you drop by those galleries when they're not mobbed chances are the owners would be happy to talk with you a bit, and in that process you can learn more about the art and about what it is that draws you to certain pieces.

That said, there's nothing wrong with and educated head-level response to art either -- although if your sole criteria for buying art is that it matches the couch or draperies, you might just end up with a home that resembles a hotel (albeit a high end hotel ).

And no, i don't have a home full of lovely art. I am lucky enough to have a few pieces that I bought many years ago from local and relatively unknown artists whose work I wouldn't be able to afford now... and other pieces I like just as much whose creators have remained obscure!

 

[kenny]

Art used to confuse me before I gave up my expectations.
Now art is just what it is.

I had an art teacher tell the class to spend extra time in museums with art that you don't "get".
There is a a reason it's up there.

I have.
I have given up on "getting" everything.

I like what I like, just like everyone else.

 

[Gypsy]

You need to find a nice local art gallery where you can pick a print or original art and have it framed to your liking.

Thrasher's in San Carlos.

I'll take a look. I work in Marin so I've been to a few galleries there and (aside from the fact that the prices just seem obscene) I've left mostly bewildered everytime.

I think the point of art is to evoke emotions. With photography I get awe of something that is real. With much modern art all I get is confusion or boredom. I've been to the MOMA (is that what it's called the Museum of Modern Art in SF?) twice, to take folks visiting us to see if because they have requested it, and I just walk through....

 

[Cehrabehra]

I'm not confused by art at all. I buy what I *like* and I don't worry about labels. Modern furnishings don't demand modern art... the BEST decorating advice I ever got was to only get things I absolutely loved and it would all fall into place. It's true. I have an eclectic collection but I love every bit of it!

 

[ksinger]

You need to find a nice local art gallery where you can pick a print or original art and have it framed to your liking.

Thrasher's in San Carlos.

I'll take a look. I work in Marin so I've been to a few galleries there and (aside from the fact that the prices just seem obscene) I've left mostly bewildered everytime.

I think the point of art is to evoke emotions. With photography I get awe of something that is real. With much modern art all I get is confusion or boredom. I've been to the MOMA (is that what it's called the Museum of Modern Art in SF?) twice, to take folks visiting us to see if because they have requested it, and I just walk through....

Oh, I suspect you actually DO get modern art, you just don't really like what it's "saying". Confusion and boredom at the viewing of some of the pieces that confuse and bore you, could very well be what the artist intended. I know I find the vast majority of modern pieces pretty devoid of a lot of stuff - like balance, or any aesthetic of beauty. I like some of it, but most of it, would I want it in my home or to view it every day? Nope. I've seen only a very few abstract pieces that moved me, although I have seen one or two that took my breath away, but most of them look like the artist was having a bad acid trip. That said, I'll go to any art museum at any time. I love looking at all of it, even when I don't care for most of it. I don't live in museum central, but whenever I'm somewhere there is an art museum, I'm all over it. The Nelson-Atkins in KC is a fave, and the Kimball in Fort Worth has some great stuff from time to time. I've done most of the ones in this area, so now I mostly only go when there is a travelling exhibit. The last really memorable one I saw was a huge exhibit at the Philbrook in Tulsa, of works by Alphonse Mucha. But that sure as heck isn't modern stuff!

 

[Cehrabehra]

This is my latest painting... I saw it in a shop in Bali my first day there and just fell in love with her face... yearned to have her home with me. This picture is a bit wonky as it is taken at an angle since she isn't framed yet. I named her Leona. I went into every art shop I saw for the following 10 days and never saw another painting that made me feel frantic that I would NOT have it... this one did. Is it perfect? No... does it speak to everyone? I doubt it... but she speaks to ME and everything in this painting reminds me of things I saw there... I think it is absolutely beautiful. I don't normally do such realistic pictures as this and rarely images of people, but I told my husband that I wanted to leave him for her lol


LOL she looks really funny at that angle... I'll get a better shot of her when she is mounted... oooh mounted

 

[soocool]

I know what I like and that is what is hanging on my walls. It could be something DH and I found while on vacation (I usually like to find a local artist gallery for something meaningful and unique). We have many photos from favorite vacation spots on our walls (35mm film photographs) of the lighthouses in Maine- my absolute favorite Cape Elizabeth. We have also had paintings (watercolors) made from several of our ski vacation photos .

Upstairs in our home I have pictures of DD, my parents, sister, DH, and me gracing our walls. But these are not portraits. Many are black and white taken without posing. My favorites include: (in color) DD sitting among a bunch of goats with her hand extended out and one goat eating out of her hand. DH's favorite (black and white) of DD as a 1 week old infant sleeping on top of me. (black and white): my dad and me fishing with a little fish on my line while I look at my dad with a big smile.

My favorite artist is Wyland. I fell in love with his work when I first visited Hawaii and have one of his oils and several lithographs. I don't know exactly what it is but I can look at his owrk for hours. It just speaks to me.

Visit shows at colleges or check out the art department (call the school and inquire ;students are so very talented) and if you find something you love you can purchase at a very low cost that is one of a kind and will usually be of something local to the area. I purchased a watercolor from such an event of one of the covered bridges in our area as a present to my sister. She absolutely loves the painting (I paid about $150 for it framed 11x14).

 

[iLander]

I love abstract and modern art, and enjoy it tremendously. It touches a freer, more open part of my self and releases it. Often the message is not the subject, the subject is manipulated and changed, or erased altogether, to explore the basic elements of art: form, line, color, composition, repetition, etc. The subject is sometimes not the point at all.

My DH has a BFA and an MFA, both from excellent art schools, and he's helped me see art from the artist's point of view. Sometimes it's just for fun, and means nothing at all! Sometimes it's meant to tell a specific story or capture a moment. I laugh when I hear people in museums speak in smug, snooty tones, because art is usually meant to be accessible and open, rather than snobbish and off-putting.

I think it is very difficult to find excellent art from undiscovered local artists. You might just have excellent taste, which is why you're not finding anything you like. You might have better luck purchasing a fine, framed print from an established artist, see links.

I've added some links to paintings in the MoMA NYC collection, I hope you'll explore them and read my short note. The note gives you a quick idea of what that artist was achieving with his work. I've arranged the links in an order that allows you to see the evolution of the subject and how it's handled as modern art evolves through the years. Just the tip of the iceberg, but a good start, anyway.

VAN GOGH- recognizable, but the subject is secondary to the style

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79802

MONET- impressionism - setting aside representation of the subject

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80298

PICASSO- manipulation of the subject to allow for exploration of line, form, color,

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78311

MATISSE- subject is secondary to allow for exploration of form and color

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79187

FRANZ KLINE- explores line, composition. MY FAVORITE!

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79234

Willem de Kooning -color and form used to evoke emotion

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79870

POLLOCK- a new element in painting; time. As represented by the spontaneity of the work

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78386

Robert Indiana- Language as the subject- the word and it's implications create emotion

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=68726

Mark Rothko- exploration of color and the emotion evoked by that color and it's contrast to other colors

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80566

Framed Prints- MoMA Store

http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/CategoryDisplay_10451_10001_11508_11630_-1___1_all

Prints- Guggenheim, NYC, a huge selection, fun to explore

http://www.1000museums.com/search.php?af=vasily+kandinsky&mus=guggenheim

Edward Hopper- You might like Hopper, he uses the subject to evoke a mood, often of solitude or loneliness

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80000

Kandinsky- You might like this print, it's very popular

http://www.1000museums.com/enlarge/200306/

 

[packrat]

Art confuses me too Gypsy! I like photos.

Years ago, when I lived w/my Gramma in Arizona, we went to a Monet exhibit. They gave you this recorder and headphones and then you went around and pushed the number of whatever painting and it told you about it. I enjoyed it so much. We spent hours there. I loved going close and seeing a jumble of nothing and standing back and seeing the full painting.

I think I'm just too simple. I did like the circles one that ilander linked to tho..reminded me of a bunch of colored gems.

I like to browse art on Etsy, and most of what I save to look at again is weird whimsical creatures that give me the "homesick" feeling in my chest..which isn't my favorite feeling, so I don't know why I like them. And I've saved some funky flower paintings that I love.

 

[Cind11]

I don't think you really have to "understand" art. I think that you just have to find pieces that move you in a certain way or evoke feelings or memories that you like.

Most of the art in my home has come from art fairs, particularly the Ann Arbor art fair in Michigan. I don't generally care for prints - especially prints where a thousand other people (or many more) are hanging the same print in their home because it matches their sofa. I think art is and should be too personal for that.

Check out the art fairs in your area. You will probably be surprised at he quality of the work.

 

[dragonfly411]

I focused on the arts during high school, and the first part of my first round at college. I don't always understand what a painting or piece is trying to say. I usually end up being interested in a variety, though I love impressionism. I agree that you have to find pieces that speak specifically to you.

 

[movie zombie]

don't forget Man Ray for some interesting modern art.

i like "modern" art now that i've spent more time around it.....but i still don't get some of the more recent things that are merely toilets or vacuum cleaners. i guess its the concept pieces i don't like.

SFMOMA has a sale every year. more importantly, they have a RENTAL program as well. take it home and try it out before you purchase.

MoZo

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Gypsy, if you love photographs and an occassional painting, then why not stick with those? There is no reason you should have to expand into what you're not into or don't "get." FWIW, I have stuff hanging all over my walls, but most of the stuff is hanging items rather than paintings. I'm just not into paintings. Because I have kids, there are many photos of them. Also, I have shadow boxes and metal candle holders. Those are just me.

Sounds like you're trying to delve into what you think you're suppose to have rather than what you like. Mix and match!

 

[VRBeauty]

I didn't mean to imply in my earlier post that you "need to" learn to like more and different forms of art, and I certainly did not mean to suggest that photography does nod qualify as art. I just outlined one possibility, based on my own experience, should you want to explore other art opportunities.

Personally I've been underwhelmed by SFMOMA too. I like some of its "historical" collection, but the few special exhibits I've seen there generally did nothing for me... one notable exception being the collection of WPA-era photographs they featured several years ago.

Speaking of which... if it's photography that you like, were you aware that you can get order original photographs -- or at least true photographic copies, printed from the original negatives -- of many photographs in the Library of Congress's collection? You can have your own copy of Dorothea Lange's iconic image of dust bowl migrants, for example:
http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b29516/

Or of Ansel Adams photographs that are lesser known and unexpected, but still show his photographic artistry:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001704633/
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppprs.00293/
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003690244/

Or my personal favorite, seeings how it's somewhat related to my work:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b42572/

ETA the large museums have large costs, and probably don't have the luxury to gamble with shows of unknown artists. That's why in my earlier post, I mentioned smaller galleries as a way to expand your artistic horizons. If nothing else, you'll get exposed to a larger swath of what's available in the art world.

 

[Imdanny]

Well, you can get a degree in art history, or two, or three. It's kind of a complicated subject.

 

[geckodani]

Gypsy, your house and my house would get along beautifully. I infinitely prefer photography to most other art. The sole exception being three lithographs my mom has at her house. They are all from Willie Suzuki, and one of them (the first of 6) is actually signed by the artist to my Mom and Dad. They are... intriguing.

One of them I dubbed, "The Lady" when I was little, and would just sit there and stare at it for ages. I've got a copy in my apartment, and will inherit the real ones some day. I'll try to remember to take a picture of her. She's lovely, and I always find something new when I look, even though I must have stared at it a million times.