I’ll be honest – I hate art. Most of it makes zero sense to me and I believe that it makes zero sense to everyone…they just want to be pseudo-intellectual by saying how “deep” and “meaningful” the art is. Really, the artist responsible is laughing at how gullible regular people are. Yes, laughing at you, pseudo-intellectual. Kind of like Scientology.
I can barely think back on all the art I saw in Europe without wanting to hyperventilate. Not because it was memorable, but because I was in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence crying because there was NO way to get out of the endless hallways. Literally no exit for 1,930,239,048,392,080,438,920,849,302 of the SAME painting. The painting of the SAME ugly woman with the SAME ugly, naked baby. Gross.
Ew.
This artist (Kevin Van Aelst) makes art that is interesting from real life things. And I like that.
*Sidenote: This commentary is a knock on art, not religion.
[Posted by Shannon]
six words to change the world. 
After reading this post, I couldn’t help from commenting. In no way do I want to sound like an a-hole in this response, but I gotta represent my roots. I minored in art and art history, I’ve tackled the beast in many mediums, and it will always be a part of my life. I am probably slightly biased here, but hey, who isn’t about certain things. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this opinion sounds like a bit of blasphemy to me….
“[Art] makes zero sense to everyone…they just want to be pseudo-intellectual by saying how “deep” and “meaningful” the art is…”
Art is not just about “being intellectual,” at least for me. Art is a part of who I am. If you love it, you always will, it’s like crack juice. You thrive on seeing all kinds of it in museums, galleries, in architecture, whatever. I’m pretty sure a gazillion other art enthusiasts, artists, art historians, and the population who is well-employed by this beautiful thing would agree. If you study art, just like history, it makes PERFECT sense (and I think is exhilarating) to learn how meaningful paintings and sculptures are, as they represented certain times in history. Showing political change, wars, or even simply how people dressed and the styles. I find it pretty “deep,” but wait, I would never use that word. Let’s say “awesome” to be able to actually see a representation of what life was like before we arrived…art gives us a visual of the past.
I’m proud to say that I am nerdy and personally inspired by the masters (of art), those who probably in their career may have painted a few of those “ugly, naked baby/women” pieces. It’s the human body that artists captured for the first time that was interesting back then, and of course now, it’s not so thrilling. Art lovers, however, must admire it. A bit way too much admiration in Italy, I agree with ya there. But, there’s more art out there from the past than Jesus-paintings and large, fleshy women and their toddlers … I would suggest to totes keep searching to find something else you enjoy. It exists! I swear.
One more thing. To compare Art to Scientology is probably largest stretch ever (!) Scientology is something that is based on beliefs and a “religion” of people, but art is real! It’s all (and always has been) about making people talk. That’s the point. Whether it’s how Leo da Vinci captured a fat ole beautiful baby or how this modern artist guy shows the outline of the Hawaiian islands in juice on his kitchen floor. In the end, it’s just about recognizing the talent of these people who make these sweet visuals for the public to love … or hate. But watch the hatin’. There’s more to these old paintings to appreciate than you know, although I may be a pseudo-art-loving regular person.
Angie, I just can’t believe you took my post seriously.
I did! I read these posts all the time, but this one hurt my art feelings. I had to take a stand. I’m sorry if you didn’t take it serious, but I clearly did…and I’m glad. (haha?) I hope someone will read and appreciate. Guess I have learned sort of a blog lesson for the day…oh well.
Oh you two crazy kids! So I’ve gotta admit, when I first read Shan’s post, I was like “YES!” (More on that later.) But then my mom said it kind of offended her, and another one of my artsy friends responded pretty much how you did, Ang.
All of that, honestly, is great. I’ve found that I’ve had the most fun with this blog when people actually respond to the posts, whether by commenting or by saying something to me — that’s kind of the point! I’m with Shannon in some ways: what annoys me a lot, and I think what annoys Shan, is that there are a lot of people out there who feel obligated to like art of all kinds. I was definitely one of those people for a while, and it made me resent art and the people who genuinely appreciate art. Going to a place like Uffizi with my family — my curious and interested mom and a bored-as-hell father and sister — drove that point home. In an ideal world, people will visit and study the kinds of art and artists that interest them. For some people, that means naked babies, and for others that means globes made out of apples. Either way, people need to stick to what makes them happy, and not just go to a museum for the sake of saying they went.
In practice, this would mean that if you’re not into Renaissance art and you’re in Florence, you shouldn’t spend all your time in museums simply because you feel like you have to. You’ll be missing out on the things that will make you fall in love with the city, and you will resent your visit there. But if you think paintings of Madonnas are all fantabulous and you love to compare them, museum your heart out. I suppose that’s sort of part of a broader philopsophy of do what you want and fuck what other people have to say.
Soooo to bring this long-windedness to a close, even though there’s a large part of me that agreed with where Shan was coming from (I believe my intial reaction was that “I’ll be honest — I hate art” was one of the greatest sentences ever), I 100% see where you’re coming from, Ang. Hooray for thoughtful debate!
Just wanted to say a quick thanks for introducing me to Kevin Van Aelst. I love many types of art myself although I did get your point, heh.
I read your blog as I was directed to it through mine and it was fun 🙂