You are an art lover. You go to art
gallery openings and enjoy the social aspect as well as the art on the walls. You
may have inherited or were gifted a piece of art. You may have a piece of
personally selected art in your living room.
But, you seldom come home with a
new purchase. You may have a $30,000+ car but are reluctant to lay out $500 for
a piece of art. Car dealers are lucky. They can site transportation
practicality, while urging you to add $10,000 more for luxury features.
All buyers are multiple-motivated
by ambiance, persuasion etc. Art buying is unique. It’s difficult for the buyer
to summons a hard practical motivation. Car dealers can summons practical and
aesthetic arguments.
Interpolate some of those car
dealer persuasions into selecting art. Consider TRANSFORMATION practicality.
What do you want your life to become? Art can enhance your quest.
Suppose you go to an author’s book
signing. Now fantasize. Everyone is enjoying a social occasion. Some engage the
author while getting the book signed. Others enjoy socializing, maybe
commenting on the book’s cover. No one engages the author’s book content, the
author’s words. There may be passing comments of the cover. Authors assume you will engage the book’s content when you
get home.
The parallel is, at a gallery
opening, you, at most, engage the art piece’s cover, what you learn at a glance. Art’s content is
explored/absorbed over time, just like a novel. How to read a novel is
established. You read or skip the intro pages, read the chapters, and, in the
case of a novel, you may sneak a look at
the ending.
It’s a process, not a glance. Well,
viewing art is a process. Happily, it’s a process that can last a lifetime. So
you are not considering the next few year’s wheels or a couple weekends
reading.
Daunted? Don’t be. A little bit of
introspection will go a long way. If you are decorating, a bit of DIY watching
or reading will prepare you. If you want to consider the full depth of art, a
little bit of psychic undaunting is in order. (“Undaunting” sure makes a spell
checker mad. I declare it a verb, making the complex simple.)
Simply go to that hidden part of
you seldom visit. Art will reveal the real you. First, are you afraid your
friends will question your taste? Don’t sweat this. “Why did you pick this?” is
a compliment. It implies you are brave enough to proclaim the real you; the
real you hidden behind your usual persona.
A piece of art must talk to your soul, your psyche, your unconscious.
Your unconscious is wiser than your
logic. You are dealing with a basic, primitive slice of your human makeup, as
basic as a foot or finger. Your unconscious is part of the primitive brain,
about 200,000 years old. Socrates discovered logic, only 2,500 years ago.
Human use of a foot or finger or
mind, is a part of you.
Here’s a secret. You can enjoy a
place that has become commonplace by pretending you have never been there
before. Look around, as if you are lost. You can enjoy art by being culturally
naïve. In both cases your view will become fresh. It’s an aide to turning off
narcissism.
Look for congruence. Psychologist Carl Rogers
said, “An ideal triangle is when the ideal self, the perceived self and the
real self are congruent.” You are looking for you on a wall.
Go to an art gallery opening as a
social occasion. It’s a like and learn occasion, just as a movie is a like and
learn. If something hits you, by all means, have them put your little red
sticker on it. Few of us can find our inner voice in the midst of a party.
If something interests you, do go
back to the gallery alone and allow yourself to truly absorb it. Most
important, sit down. Most times, you view the art from a sitting position in your
home. In the end, trust your butt.
