Art vs interior decorating

[DrZoidberg]

I'm no expert, but I believe that the point of abstract art is that the observer projects meaning onto the canvas. The paints and shapes are to evoke and inspire. It's hooks for our subconscious to get drawn out by. That's of course, only abstract paintings.

And I've done my fair share of literally and film analysis. Great works of writing and film are always way more complex and deep than what the artist had in mind when he/she first created it. Meaning is most often added afterwards by the public. So is the meaning with a work the meaning the creator put into it, or is the meaning what the consumers read into it?

The Creation of Adam Fresco by Michelangelo

1. What is Michelangelo telling us with this painting?

2. What was Michelangelo telling the Church (Rome)?

That one is famous for having a gazillion layers of possible interpretations. The cloth around God (well... it's Zeus... but anyhoo) is shaped like a brain. Adam does not look particularly enthusiastic. They are NOT touching. There's a shit load of interesting detail in that that you can project onto at your hearts content.

 

[Thomas II]

"Far less known, however, is that the famous finger of Adam receiving the “touch” of life is not, technically, Michelangelo’s work; that part of the ceiling cracked in the mid-16th Century and was redone by another artist."

http://historylessons.net/michelangelo-pope-julius-ii-and-the-sistine-chapel

 

[DrZoidberg]

View attachment 7240

"Far less known, however, is that the famous finger of Adam receiving the “touch” of life is not, technically, Michelangelo’s work; that part of the ceiling cracked in the mid-16th Century and was redone by another artist."

http://historylessons.net/michelangelo-pope-julius-ii-and-the-sistine-chapel

I heard a good pithy trope from an artist (tattooist) who said that "good art is mysterious". I think that is a quite profound truth. It's not that art should be hard to understand. It should be impossible to fully understand. The point is to evoke feelings. And once all the mysteries of a piece is revealed it'll just get old = interior decorating. Good explanation?

 

[Thomas II]

I heard a good pithy trope from an artist (tattooist) who said that "good art is mysterious". I think that is a quite profound truth. It's not that art should be hard to understand. It should be impossible to fully understand. The point is to evoke feelings. And once all the mysteries of a piece is revealed it'll just get old = interior decorating. Good explanation?

All the "mysteries" are never revealed. When a piece is really art, it NEVER gets tired, it NEVER becomes just "interior decorating". There are certain pieces that I go "visit" every now and then, and I always feel the same awe. Those pieces always transport me to whatever place they take me.
I also see good interior decorating as a form of art (only good ones, of course) It is supposed to evoke emotions just the same as a painting, because it's a play of colors and forms, the difference is that good decorating surrounds us, it immerses us. I had a good interior decorator in my family, as well as a good painter, so I know the process.
I can't decorate for shit, but I can appreciate it, all that it involves, and believe me it is complex...