Getting Into Culture: Painting
Today, as part of YGTV’s commitment to boosting its cultural content, we start a new series. In the coming months, we’ll be contacting artists, poets, novelists, musicians, dancers and others to ask them for tips to help beginners appreciate and learn more about their art form.
Abstract art, conceptual art, opera, long novels and complex poems can be daunting if we encounter them without a few simple rules for interpretation, rules which can increase our enjoyment and spur us on to other discoveries.
For our first article, we asked artist Lorraine Buhagiar about how to appreciate a painting:
YGTV: How do you approach a painting in an art gallery? What should you look for?:
Lorraine Buhagiar: Initially, look for a work that appeals to you and that you are drawn to and that perhaps arouses your curiosity. It may not even be good art in the technical sense but some aspect of it makes you feel something. Take time to experience the work and consider all the information available to you.
YGTV: How important is the work’s title?:
Lorraine Buhagiar: The title of a work can help the viewer connect with the artist’s intention; it might be the only clue to what’s going on. In some cases, it may have been an afterthought or the work could be untitled in which case it may be ambiguous or misleading but also invites the viewer to have their own interpretation. The importance of a title, I think, depends on the depth at which one wishes to explore a piece and that comes down to personal choice.
YGTV: Is it necessary to have any background knowledge about the history of art or the biography of the painter in order to appreciate a painting?:
Lorraine Buhagiar: Background knowledge can sometimes foster pre-conceived ideas about a particular work but art history and biographies are useful in understanding an artistic movement / style, and possibly the inspiration or reason for its creation.
YGTV: What should you do if you do not immediately understand what a painting is trying to do?
Lorraine Buhagiar: Don’t give up! A painting can be appreciated in very simple terms, for its colour palette alone or its execution. With good observation and reflection, evidence can be gathered to get a better understanding. In reality many artworks remain a mystery and that’s okay.
