On the undertaking of analyzing varieties of art – can you just “like” art?
I often hear people say that they “just don’t have the eye” for analyzing art and literature. People think it takes schooling and practice to glean a true meaning or understanding from a piece of creative work. While your analysis skills may benefit and grow from practice, I believe that if you are consuming media, you are analyzing it.
Of course, you may not always be consciously doing it at all times. I’m not saying that any time you turn on a show in the background while you clean the house you are being an analytical genius. But I do think that if you are dedicating your attention to a piece of media in some way, then by proxy, you are mulling over its meaning.
You may be thinking:
Well, what if I am not thinking anything while I read? Or while I look at art? What if I’m being dragged through a museum and reluctantly, I am glancing at the art? What if I am reading a book for school and I don’t care about it?
These are all valid points!
Now, I am not qualified to tell you that my opinion is fact. But I am qualified to keep telling you about it, and why I think that even if you aren’t into whatever media you are consuming, you are still analyzing it in some way. So, I will.
First, we should establish the differences and similarities between visual art and literature.
One article on Redital called “The Connection Between Visual Art and Literature: A Multisensory Exploration of Storytelling”, written by Gary Swaby, describes the connections between the two art forms.
“While visual art primarily relies on images to convey meaning and emotion, literature uses written language to create imaginary worlds, characters, and narratives. Artists and writers draw inspiration from their experiences, culture, and the world around them, intertwining visual elements with text to create a cohesive and captivating experience.” - (Swaby, 2023)
Artists and writers all draw inspiration from the same places, and consumers of any kind of art exist to see it. Artists create for themselves, yes, but they also show their work to the world, reaching out and introducing themselves with the stroke of a brush or the printing of words on a page. All creative material has an audience, and all audiences, no matter who, interpret it.
Visual art and literature actually do have different ways of reaching an audience, however. Visual art is often said to stimulate the right hemisphere of one’s brain, which is more so associated with emotional responses, and thus a painting is likely to create an intense and immediate reaction in one’s mind. When you look at a piece of art, your brain begins to attempt to make sense of the piece. You will subconsciously seek out a meaning, a connection, or a story behind the work you are seeing.
In contrast, reading written words is said to stimulate the left hemisphere of your brain, which is often related to things like decoding language, constructing images, and using logic and reasoning. Don’t take that to mean that words do not evoke a visceral emotional reaction like visual art, though. While reading requires a certain skillset (it might be a little hard to read and analyze something if you haven’t yet learned to read… shocker, I know!) it is not necessarily a learned experience to feel emotional connections and question what it is you are consuming.
If you are someone that doesn’t think you have that capacity or skill necessary to analyze a piece of work, or maybe you just feel like you never make that connection, ask yourself this:
Why do you think you don’t like that painting? Why is that book boring? Why do you feel what you are feeling when you consume that media?
Personally, I think if you can figure out an answer to any of those questions, you are already constructing your own analysis of the piece! It may not be a super scientific and wordy analysis, but to me, that isn’t what counts. What counts is responding to a piece of art, or literature, within your self and within your own parameters.
Yes, analysis itself is a pretty methodical and purposeful thing. But I think that to be a critical eye in any way is enough to “count”. To look at a painting and think, “I don’t like this,” or “I love this” is the first step! After establishing first your initial feelings, all that’s left to analyze is why you think you are having that reaction to the work.
So, does it take a certain mindset to actively and consciously analyze art or literature?
Well, that’s the thing. I guess it depends on what your own idea of analysis is. There are a lot of different types of analysis, and there are many different things to focus on when doing it. You could look at a drawing and inspect its lines and forms, its shading techniques and lighting; and you could read a poem and dissect the lines, word choice, and sound. It is all valid analysis. And that’s just if you’re analyzing the more technical side of things! You could look at a painting and easily look for symbolism and hidden messages in colors and forms, and you can also just as easily read a book and scan it for symbolism, figurative language, and author intended meaning. There is so much to think about when you consume media, and I think it would be silly to only allow certain levels and ways of thinking about art to qualify as analysis.
So. Is it possible to just “like” art? Is it possible to consume media without forming your own thoughts and connections in your brain surrounding the media? Personally, I think that an incident of just purely looking at art or reading literature without making any of one’s own connections, thoughts, or ideas is rare. I think that most people, when consuming creative media, subconsciously will think for themselves as they do. We are naturally curious beings! We are bound to question, to think, and to feel; art and literature allows us to do so without restraint. When we feel things and think about those things in relation to the media, we are conducting our own little Socratic seminar!
This does not mean you need to begin thinking HARDER or paying more attention to what you consume. I don’t think it would hurt, but I also think that if your process ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Whatever you do to consume creative media, and truly enjoy it, then that is what works for you. And if you want to get more involved in analyzing your media, go right ahead! It just starts with a feeling. 😊
Sources
· Swaby, G. (2023) The connection between visual art and literature, redital. Available at: https://www.redital.com/2023/the-connection-between-visual-art-and-literature-exploration-of-storytelling/ (Accessed: 29 March 2025).
