Though I've never actually taken this particular course in college, do to the mindset that I'd rather not pay for a class that I can do for free. Foolish me, I clearly did not have the knowledge of what appreciation really means, which meant I couldn't really understand what I was looking at. I can't like a piece of art because I don't understand where the artist is coming from. For example, my first impression of cheerleading was from movies depicting them as non-athletes who prance around aimlessly. I couldn't appreciate cheerleading in all its glory until I went 'behind the scenes', so to speak and got to see how these routines come about, from training and conditioning to memorizing steps and a lot of trust from flyers. Same goes for art, I didn't know much about it so abstract paintings were awful and sculptures were just big metal sheets bent out of place. When you learn to appreciate art you get to learn about the cultures and people that brought these art forms to life. I can admire the cave paintings more because I know that they made their own paints and painting tools, how cool is that?! It's October 2020 and I still don't know how to make paint. I applaud the past on their value of art, like how women were seen as accomplished if they knew how to paint, yet we didn't start to see female artists appear until the late 18th century! Art is a curious thing, it makes you think and feel and wonder. So the next time you see a piece of art, take a minute to think about the story its telling or what feeling its giving off. There's a reason you see people staring at a piece for a long time. Go on try it! You'd be surprised at what kind of art you start to like.
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