The Subjective Nature Of Art

One of the things I find interesting about humans is that we constantly develop new ways to express our emotions and feelings. Centuries ago, human beings cherished poems and beautifully written letters more than they do now. To win the heart of a loved one, poets would compose beautiful poems and pair them up with a sweet-scented flower. It worked. Year after year, new methods started gaining popularity, like songs, paintings, and more. Today, there are different ways to express our emotions and feelings; from flowers to songs, letters, paintings and many more. All these fall under one big umbrella: ART.

This brings me to today’s Hive Learners’ prompt: BAD ART. Is there such a thing as bad art? If art is a form of expression, is it possible for a piece of art to be considered “bad?” On the surface level, art may seem like a simple concept, but beneath it lies multiple layers of complexities. We cannot all be experts when it comes to expressing ourselves through art. Just because a friend knows how to construct creative and artistic ideas into words more than I do, does that make their work “good” and mine “bad.” Or just because my painting is not as good as that of another, does that make my own less expressive? There are a lot of questions to ask, so many examples we can cite, but in the end, it all narrows down to the definition of “bad art” and “art” itself.

There is no single, universally accepted definition of art. What you consider art might be overlooked by another person. Here in my country, there has been a long standing rivalry between two musicians: Davido and Wizkid. The stage is divided. While some people are big supporters of Wizkid and his songs, others support Davido. They claim Wizkid’s songs are all trash. Why is this so? Why is it that some people like Wizkid’s songs and loathe those of Davido? That is because art is subjective.

Have you ever gotten song recommendations from a friend? According to them, that song is “heavenly” and “beautiful.” Shockingly, when you listen to it, it doesn’t get to you at all and you can’t even see any reason why your friend liked them. Does that mean that song is bad? To you, the song is bad, but to them it is beautiful.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as “bad art” as long as it is able to convey the person’s feelings and emotions. It might not make sense to you, but if it makes sense to the person, then so be it. In the end, if we keep arguing that this genre of art is good and this one is bad, it will only keep wasting time and in the end, we still won’t arrive at an answer.

For example, I don’t like modern art, but that doesn’t change anything. As long as it makes sense to them, then so be it. Let them keep doing it. I came across a video where a man splashed paint on a wall and said it represented chaos and anarchy. I came across another video where a man drenched himself in paint and lay on the floor. To him, that was art. In fact, there are so many videos on Instagram dedicated to modern art. Another man filled red buckets with sand; about 6 buckets. He stacked them on top of one another and then made them fall. To me, I didn’t see any sense in that. I mean, anyone could do that, but I was even surprised when the people who witnessed it clapped.

To me, this genre of art is nothing compared to well-drawn images. For example, if I saw a painting of an old woman with wrinkles and a single drop of tear on her cheeks, I would appreciate it more. I would interpret it in many ways. I could say that that drop of tear represents sorrows that had built up for ages. I could even say it represents happiness. I could interpret it as tears of joy. Depending on other details of the painting, I could interpret it in many ways. But I wouldn’t be able to do this with modern art. A man fills a red bucket with sand and falls it down, what interpretation do I give to that? To me, modern art “doesn’t make sense” but to them, it makes total sense.

In the end, maybe there is no such thing as “bad art.” It is all about perspective!