Ways to Enjoy Art 'Other Than' Cultivating Refinement

Recently, many books about art have been published.

Many art books aimed at amateurs like me focus on practical aspects.

In other words, they are for gaining art knowledge to 'cultivate refinement,' acquire 'aesthetic sense,' or apply to 'business.'

I think that is interesting in its own way.
But honestly, knowing the names of painters, titles of works, or art movements,is likely of little use in real life.

Besides, in this era with so much entertainment, there arecountless other ways

to 'cultivate sensitivity' and 'acquire aesthetic sense' other than appreciating art.

Then why appreciate art?It is simply becauseart is interesting and fun

!This time, I will introduce my own way of viewing art, with an emphasis on'enjoying it'.

1. First, don't be self-conscious

Talk about art tends to be discussed in the context of 'understanding or not understanding'.
However, if you are enjoying it as a hobby, there is no need to become an expert.

For an amateur like me, more important than specialized knowledge iswhether your heart is moved.

If you are so worried about who the artist is or what movement they belong to that you cannot enjoy the work in front of you, it defeats the purpose.

In the first place, historical evaluation and personal likes and dislikes are completely different things.
Even when looking at the same work, everyone's feelings are different, right?

Some people like a specific artist, while others like the space itself surrounded by art works.
You can stare at one work until you make a hole in it, or you can glance through many works at once.

You should just enjoy it in a way that is comfortable for you!

There is no need to feel the pressure of 'I have to understand the value of a masterpiece' or 'I have to make a clever comment'.
Let's be more relaxed!

2. Try observing the work closely

From here on, this is for those who want to enjoy art even more.
(If you are satisfied with 1, that is totally fine too!)

Whether at a museum or elsewhere, there are times when you encounter a work that moves you, right?

At such times, if youtry observing the work closely, you will make various discoveries.

For example, I am strongly attracted to Monet's paintings. They seem to sparkle and shine, and are so beautiful!

Why are they so beautiful... When I look closely at the painting thinking that, I realize that a great many colors are used.

For example, please pay attention to the shadows of the haystacks. It is a very delicate use of color, such as green, blue, and purple!
It is cool that he doesn't just easily paint them black because they are shadows.

The way of painting is also characteristic.
Instead of drawing outlines and filling them in, he expresses shapes by layering tiny touches.

When you look at it up close, it just looks like a messy clump of paint, but it is mysterious how the landscape suddenly emerges when you look at it from a little distance.

Like this, even in works that seem simple at first glance, there areheaps of things to see

, such as color usage and brush touches.
A good point is that paintings don't move, so you can observe them at your own pace.

Staring intently at a work allows you to feel as if you have entered the painting, and it is also fun to experience the extraordinary!

3. Try looking it up if you are interested

If you look up things you became interested in after seeing a work, various things will fall into place and you will feel refreshed.

Rather than looking it up to accumulate knowledge, the image is thatknowledge naturally accumulates as you look things up because you are interested.

When I look up the aforementioned Monet, various things become clear. For example,

・He uses a technique called color division, where colors are not mixed on the palette
・Colors become darker the more you mix them, but they remain bright if you don't mix them
and so on...

Monet's paintings are beautiful not just because there are many colors, but becausethere were ingenious ways to make them look bright.

When I look further, I find that Monet painted the same motif many times.

Being able to find subtle changes and diverse colors from within the same thing,this power of observation is the key to Monet's work.

When you take a step beyond 'Beautiful! Amazing!',a new side of painting comes into view.

You can live without it, but

I have accumulated a little bit of art knowledge as a hobby.
However, even if I didn't have that,it would not hinder my life at all.

Even so, the reason I write articles about art and share them isto enjoy the works, and life, even more.

The extraordinary experience of being moved by seeing a work, that extraordinary experience makes daily life a little richer.

Speaking of the Monet story earlier, when I see Monet's paintings, the scenery around me looks more beautiful than usual.

What he painted was familiar scenery, but the world inside the painting is colorful and sparkling.
When I look at such Monet paintings,I am reminded that color and light are overflowing in casual scenery.

Works transcend countries and eras, connecting to my own world...this feeling is fun, and before I knew it, I had been appreciating art for over 10 years.

You can live without it, but it makes life a little richer if you have it; I want to continue enjoying art appreciation like that.

I am delving into the charm of Monet, whose name I mentioned many times in the article.

Paintings show a completely different face when viewed from afar versus up close.