I have often seen people in an art gallery, gazing at a painting hanging on the whitewashed wall. Do they actually understand what the piece is supposed to depict? Are they mere ‘onlookers’, staring intently at something that is incomprehensible and putting on a ‘cultured’ front that is nothing more than a facade of deceit? It is really amusing to note that such people do exist in our society today. With this discussion, I hope that they will be enlightened by the knowledge that art appreciation is not something that can be acquired in a matter of days. Rather, it is a long, sustained process that is often quite painful but rewarding.

To some of us, art has always added beauty to our lives. It may portray what is beautiful, but it can also elevate the commonplace to the beautiful. An example of such a work would be Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’. Her hands are folded before her in stately repose – an extraordinarily poetic study. The mysteriousness of her smile has enchanted generations of viewers and encouraged each to make what he or she can of the personality of the sitter. The gentleness of the smile and softness of the skin also evoke the ideals of femininity and motherhood. This probably explains why this painting was obsequiously idealized as the achievement and perfection generally unknown in nature.

Conversely, Art can highlight what is important and pierce facades to reveal what is beneath. This might even be at the expense of visual beauty. For example, in the contemporary artist Chuck Close’s ‘Self-Portrait’, he paints a close-up picture of himself. All the imperfections of skin, the oiliness of unwashed hair, and the asymmetry of facial features assault the viewer. This is a far cry from the portrait of ‘Mona Lisa’. Yet, Close’s self-portrait exemplifies another meaning of art.

Besides being a source of comfort or discomfort to the eye, Art is a source of intellectual stimulation. Beautiful or controversial paintings, sculptures, structures, photographs trigger series of associations. We think about what the subjects of art are doing, thinking and feeling. As participants in this ritual of appreciation, we reflect on the purposes of the artist and try to see some thing or person through the eyes of another individual. An example where the intellectual aspects of art reaches its peak is seen in Joseph Kosuth’s conceptual art masterpiece ‘Art As Idea As Idea’. Kosuth photocopied and enlarged the definition of an abstract term from the dictionary, lending it a tangible quality. Conceptual art wordworks like these seem to comment on the impersonal information systems of the modern world. Naturally, they pose a challenge to the formal premises of art and stir an intellectual response in viewers.

On a less abstract level, Art has been employed by different social classes who hold the balance of power as one instrument of domination. Artists tend to be disturbed by what they perceive as unjust. Like other people, they frequently try to persuade others to join them in their causes. In Eugene Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading The People’, we see that this painting was used as a tool to keep the spirit of the French Revolution alive in 1830. In this painting, people of all classes were united in rising up against injustice, led onward by an allegorical figure.

However, there is another area to Art - eroticism. This is quite a controversial issue. Certain conventions of eroticism are deeply ingrained that one takes them for granted. The imagery of women in erotic art has always featured in the nineteenth century. The notion that erotic imagery is created out of male needs and desires even encompasses the relatively minor category of art for homosexuals. Even in the case of art with lesbian themes, men were considered to be the audience. Take for example, Courbet who painted his scandalous ‘Sleep’ for the former Turkish ambassador, Khalil Bey, who no doubt felt invigorated by the spectacle of two voluptuous female nudes locked in each other’s arms.

The creation of sexual delight or provocation has always been created about women for men’s enjoyment, by men. This is of course, not the result of some calculated plot on the part of men, but merely a reflection in the realm of art of woman’s lack of her own erotic territory. Even today, the very idea of the male body as a source of gentle, inviting satisfaction for women’s erotic needs, demands, and daydreams is almost unheard of. The male image will always be one of power, possession, and domination; the female one of submission, passivity, and availability.

Oscar Wilde once said, "Paradoxical though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Yes, this is arguably true as Art is an expression of the universal. It reveals what is common in the human experience and more often than not, it makes us more conscious of ourselves. We mortals have our failings and it is Art that paints the flawless dream that we must surge forth and strive for. In so doing, we would have benefited much more from our time spent in the musty art gallery.