How Do We Evaluate Art? Essay, Research Paper
How Do We Evaluate Art?
When we are trying to evaluate art, how do we know it is good or not?
We usually fit our personal feelings to the good or bad decision. If the
drawing is in my taste, I say it is good. If it is not my taste, I dislike it
and give it a negative comment. Everyone’s thinking is different. Thus we may
receive hundred or thousand different kinds of opinion toward one event or
object. It is important for us to know that every opinion is independent and is
not absolute. After reading the article, I realized there is no absolute good
or bad. Comment, literarily defined, is opinion given briefly in speech or
writing about an event. It is a form of personal feedback. The feedback,
however, can be based on a personal experience or knowledge.
Experience and knowledge can only increase in amount. Experience is
personal and independent. Everyone has different experience, no matter what the
experience is: learning experience, sexual experience, entertaining experience
or love experience. Experience is based on a person’s life. Does that mean an
older human has greater personal experience? Theoretically, it is. We see that
we usually find an adult’s suggestion is much more ideal than a child’s. When
we are judging with our experience, we are actually doing comparison. We are
asking ourselves several questions. Is it better than what I had seen before?
Is it creative? Can it be better? Is it professional?
However, not all of our experience is good. There are bad memories.
Our judgement is therefore wrong. Thus, we have to aware that our opinion does
not have a mean of absolute. It is also important to determine with another
factor, knowledge.
Knowledge is from experience. It can be gained through experience. It
can be gained through learning in a form of official education. Knowledge,
similar to experience, can vary according to ages. Again, an old man is
theoretically wiser. However, there are many exceptions to this case. When we
think of knowledge, we should not restrict the area of it. Knowledge is wide
and has no limitation. Knowledge is more than what we learn from school or even
University. When we are judging, we also ask ourselves several questions. Does
it fit what I had learned before? Is it using any sort of method I had learned
before, or a new way? When we are lack of knowledge, we have difficulty
evaluating. Our point of view is, therefore, limited and narrow. Our empty
mind can only accept or learn, and everything will sound new to us. When we
declare something new, psychologically we will think it is good. Good or bad
does not make any sense here. When lack of knowledge, judgement is difficult
and therefore cannot be said absolute.
Since knowledge and experience are important on our basis of decision,
it is obvious that we have to learn and experience more in our life. The more
you experience, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you know. The
more you know, the better you can judge. When we are judging, we should not
think our judgement is absolutely right or wrong. There is no absolute right or
wrong. It is like an ugly female or male can be considered beautiful in
someone’s eyes.