How Do We Evaluate Art? Essay, Research Paper

How Do We Evaluate Art?

When we are trying to evaluate art, how do we know it is good or not?

We usually fit our personal feelings to the good or bad decision. If the

drawing is in my taste, I say it is good. If it is not my taste, I dislike it

and give it a negative comment. Everyone’s thinking is different. Thus we may

receive hundred or thousand different kinds of opinion toward one event or

object. It is important for us to know that every opinion is independent and is

not absolute. After reading the article, I realized there is no absolute good

or bad. Comment, literarily defined, is opinion given briefly in speech or

writing about an event. It is a form of personal feedback. The feedback,

however, can be based on a personal experience or knowledge.

Experience and knowledge can only increase in amount. Experience is

personal and independent. Everyone has different experience, no matter what the

experience is: learning experience, sexual experience, entertaining experience

or love experience. Experience is based on a person’s life. Does that mean an

older human has greater personal experience? Theoretically, it is. We see that

we usually find an adult’s suggestion is much more ideal than a child’s. When

we are judging with our experience, we are actually doing comparison. We are

asking ourselves several questions. Is it better than what I had seen before?

Is it creative? Can it be better? Is it professional?

However, not all of our experience is good. There are bad memories.

Our judgement is therefore wrong. Thus, we have to aware that our opinion does

not have a mean of absolute. It is also important to determine with another

factor, knowledge.

Knowledge is from experience. It can be gained through experience. It

can be gained through learning in a form of official education. Knowledge,

similar to experience, can vary according to ages. Again, an old man is

theoretically wiser. However, there are many exceptions to this case. When we

think of knowledge, we should not restrict the area of it. Knowledge is wide

and has no limitation. Knowledge is more than what we learn from school or even

University. When we are judging, we also ask ourselves several questions. Does

it fit what I had learned before? Is it using any sort of method I had learned

before, or a new way? When we are lack of knowledge, we have difficulty

evaluating. Our point of view is, therefore, limited and narrow. Our empty

mind can only accept or learn, and everything will sound new to us. When we

declare something new, psychologically we will think it is good. Good or bad

does not make any sense here. When lack of knowledge, judgement is difficult

and therefore cannot be said absolute.

Since knowledge and experience are important on our basis of decision,

it is obvious that we have to learn and experience more in our life. The more

you experience, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you know. The

more you know, the better you can judge. When we are judging, we should not

think our judgement is absolutely right or wrong. There is no absolute right or

wrong. It is like an ugly female or male can be considered beautiful in

someone’s eyes.