Degrees of Appreciation of Art

It's a narrative on how to appreciate art.

Art is passion ignited in making aesthetic artifacts. How can we appreciate art? There are some approaches. Here are they: Surface level meaning, Aesthetic admiration and interpretation. I would like to use: Dali’s persistence of memory.

Surface Level of Meaning

Surface level meaning is simply a gaze at art. For example I observe the melting of clocks on embryos.

Aesthetic Appreciation

One becomes fascinated or repulsed by the meaning. For example: Dali is an inspiration of bringing out the eerie mystery of the unconscious in the open light.

Interpretation of Art

When interpreting art we can ask the following questions: Is it a new work of art? What is the mystery embedded in it? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

The Persistence of Memory when brought out was new oeuvre of art. It’s art that merged fantasy with reality and is a precursor for the surrealist movement in art. While analyzing the mystery of the artifact we can look at it from a psychoanalytic point of view. Melting of clocks on the embryo shows an oedipal conflict and also does the melting of clothes reveal the consciousness of inner time.