Blog Post #1 Art What is it good for? The lonely Palette Podcast by Andy Menzel

 




For my first post I wanted to start out with something that everyone has probably thought at some point, “what is art good for”. This is the title of the first episode of the Lonely Palette podcast. I choose this podcast because I was intrigued not only by the cover image of somebody’s face pasted onto the Mona Lisa, but also simply by the profoundness of the question itself and how it mattered and what it meant to me. I’m sure this question will mean many different things to many different people and I’m excited to see what everyone thinks.

The podcast starts out with various interviews with random people at an art museum, asking questions such as “why are you here, did you study art when you were younger” and such. It's
interesting how everyone has a different answer to the same question, and it's interesting to really think about that and how its influenced differently by the person who gives their answer. An artist is obviously going to say something different than a philosophy student or even a first grader for that matter.

The narrator then goes on to talk about an experience she had with someone where she talks about a painting, immediately the women stammers and when asked further says that she wouldn’t be able to give a fancy answer such as herself the narrator. People think that art museums are these special places and clubs and that the worlds artists all have like a special handshake to get in somehow. Many people are even afraid to answer or talk to an employee at the museum because they might be wrong, but there really is no way to be wrong when it comes to art. Throughout history, art has changed so much, and many times because of public scrutiny. There's a part in the video (15:00- 15:06) where she says “oh, you want to call my work an unfinished impression, then we’ll call ourselves impressionists you asshole” Art: What Is It Good For? While her response did elicit a few chuckles form myself, it really rang true, after all, every generation has its artists and many of them have done things drastically different than the ones that came before.

Perhaps its only human nature, to want to do things different than the ones who came before you, and it’s a question that surely lingers on many people minds. Whatever the case may be, we just need to remember that no one has the final opinion on art and that’s its constantly changing. However, arts mutability and its ability to change so much with the environment its in and the people who view it really is one of its greatest strengths. So, the next time you go into an art museum, just remember that the only secret handshake there is, is just your eyes.

Questions/things to think a about

Do you agree with the narrator’s four points that she makes throughout the video?

 


What about Michelangelo’s David makes it an important piece of art?

 

 

 

Source

   “Episode 0: Art: What Is It Good For?” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Nov. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcE0pR11-x0.

 

 

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