Why is Art Difficult to Understand?

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and felt like you didn’t understand it? Maybe you felt that as a person who is not an artist that you could never truly appreciate art or understand it fully. Looking to interpret art as a non-artist can be confusing or concerning, but you don’t have to be an artist to enjoy art.

Art is not a limited or exclusive experience; it is open to anyone to create, discuss, and interpret. While trying to interpret all the different aspects of a piece of art can seem overwhelming to a person not well-versed in the world of art, anyone can learn to appreciate the elements of a piece that make up the whole.

Making Art Accessible to You

Rather than trying to guess the meaning behind every brush stroke in a painting or every line in a piece of pottery, start with simple appreciation for smaller aspects of a piece of art. This can make appreciating or extracting meaning easier. The best thing about art is that it is open to interpretation! Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the meaning of a piece of art is determined equally by the artist and the art consumer.

Bob Ross, an artist who believed in the wide accessibility and inspiration of art, once said, “I can't think of anything more rewarding than being able to express yourself to others through painting. Exercising the imagination, experimenting with talents, being creative; these things, to me, are truly the windows to your soul.”

Because art is an expression, as Ross stated, there is no “correct” way to view a piece of art--a piece of art can be whatever you want it to be. Art is not a confusing concept limited to the elite or those who practice it; art is open for all to enjoy, whether you choose to appreciate the bright colors on one piece of art or the interesting shapes of another.

If you’d like to check out some art by AMFAB artists, you can find their work on our artist's page!