Visiting art exhibitions

When going to an art exhibition and not having already been familiar with the artist, I like to develop my own interpretation based on my initial observations. And it is only after I've seen the work and understand it with my own ignorant eyes, that I read about the artist and their work and discover what  were their intentions with a piece. And it is then that I see if I saw what they wanted me too, if I feel what they wanted me to- if yes, then they were able to achieve their goal and if not, well, that is what art is: in a constant state of flux because the individual viewer sees everything in their own unique way, with their own understandings of the world, their own background and social upbringing, etc. to determine their mindsets for analysing/ interpreting art and even day to day life.

This leads to the question of "what is art?" My personal response to that, is "art is an undetermined abstract thing that is whatever the individual perceives it to be." There are no two people who would interpret a work of art in the exactly the same way; art is a personal journey.

In class, we were advised to think about how you would encounter things as artists- what does work evoke, what you instinctively feel emotionally, physically and also try to understand what the artist was thinking throughout their entire process. Art doesn't tell us stories, it is to make you think and to allow you to make the links yourself- art is a prompt.