This week in pottery, we finished firing our letters and we began designing our new projects. Looking back at our letters, we had to think about how we want our projects to be perceived, how to make a letter tell a whole story, or maybe no story at all. This made me realize that we all perceive art in a different way.

No two people have the same life, we all have different adventures, tragedies, and other such experiences that make us unique. Our decisions and thoughts can also change the course of our lives whether intentional or not. However all of these experiences can change our outlook on the world. The things we have seen, or understand can emote a different type of reaction when viewing art. Although we are all different and unique, others may have experienced similar events as you, and even similar emotions. When we see art, we look to see “what it is”. This surface level inspection helps us dicifer what is being displayed, is it an animal, a landscape, or maybe just plain abstract work? Then we go deeper and try to figure out what the underlying meaning is or if there even is one. We try to figure out what the artist is telling us through their work. Some artists share personal stories, some show their views on certain issues and how things made people feel. For example in Picasso’s Guernica, it is difficult to tell what is going on. It just looks like abstract work, but as you begin to dig deeper, you realize that this is actually a strong political statement. Guernica was Pablo Picasso’s reaction to the Nazi bombings during the Spanish Civil War. Without words, he displays a novel worth of emotions, experiences, and views. Finally after we have discovered the underlying meaning, we begin to relate the artwork back to ourselves. As humans, it is much easier to understand something if we can relate it back to ourselves, we look for relating emotions and even experiences so that we can feel what the artist is telling, not just to understand.

 

I really like this form because it just looks so natural, it has a very rustic, makeshift look that  I love. My mom is from Georgia and I have always loved peaches, so I perceived this form as a southerner and I thought about rocking chairs and southern accents, but maybe a northerner would just perceive this as a peach, with no story behind it.