How to Stop Pretending and Actually Enjoy Art

By Herbert Lui

藝術(shù)欣賞需要學(xué)習(xí)嗎？假如有一個人請你去看畫展，你說，且慢！讓我先去學(xué)習(xí)一下如何看畫，然后再去畫展；或者即使到了畫展上也對眼前的作品一無所知，不知從何說起。對于普通人來說，藝術(shù)欣賞似乎總是顯得高深莫測，好像只有專家或大師才能真正懂藝術(shù)。其實欣賞藝術(shù)也可以很簡單，學(xué)了下面幾招或許你就不會再說自己是藝術(shù)上的“氓民”了！

You might roll your eyes when your in-laws want to visit the art gallery.1roll one’s eyes： 不以為然；in-law： 姻親（指以婚姻關(guān)系為中介而產(chǎn)生的親屬）。You might also get anxious and start thinking of things to say so you don’t look dumb. But art doesn’t have to be a chore2chore： 瑣事，令人厭煩的事情。. Here’s how you can better consume art so you can have a shot at enjoying the experience.3consume： 消耗，消費；have a shot at： 嘗試。

Read the Explainers and Pay for Voice Guides4 explainer： 解說；voice guide： 語音向?qū)?，語音解說。

Whether it’s a painting, recording, sculpture, building, or some other art form, a piece of art is the result of feelings from a certain time and place in history. Even just a brief explanation of that history empowers us, as an audience, to understand and empathize with artists more.5即使只是對歷史的簡短解說，也會讓作為觀眾的我們更好地理解這些藝術(shù)家并和他們產(chǎn)生共鳴。empathize with： 有同感，起共鳴。

It helps to follow experts as they explain their interpretations of art pieces, because they’ve spent more time with it, and likely have studied the field.6聽聽專家們對藝術(shù)作品的見解也很有用，因為他們在這些藝術(shù)作品上花費的時間比我們長，而且很可能對這個領(lǐng)域有所研究。interpretation： 解釋，闡述。Similar to how a chef takes raw ingredients and prepares food,7chef： 廚師；ingredient： （尤指烹調(diào)用的）原料。an art expert spends time with a piece and prepares explanations so you can consume art more easily. For example, have a look at Art as Therapy8Art as Therapy： 《藝術(shù)的療效》，作者是阿蘭·德波頓和約翰·阿姆斯特朗，該書主要介紹了藝術(shù)作為一種治療形式，能為生活中的諸多問題提供有效的解決方案。.

達·芬奇的《維特魯威人》

巴黎盧浮宮

Naturally, different art forms will have different types of explainers. Voice guides are great for art galleries, books can be helpful for visual art. It could also get more speci fic: Genius.com is great for hip-hop culture and music, and is quickly expanding into other musical types.9specific： 特定的；Genius.com： 以說唱為主題的音樂網(wǎng)站，該網(wǎng)站為人們提供平臺進行改編，將文學(xué)、詩歌、政治演說、學(xué)術(shù)論文和其他所有的文本以說唱的方式詮釋；hip-hop： 嘻哈文化，以說唱、打碟，街舞和涂鴉為主要特征的一種文化。

If you have a friend who’s extremely knowledgeable about the art form you want to see, go with them. It makes a world of difference. I went to an art gallery with a friend who studied art history, and she shared relevant information that I wouldn’t have known about how the artist’s life affected their paintings.

Remember to balance between getting context and actually feeling the art.I spent a lot of time reading the captions to reinforce my own understanding,but she spent most of her time looking at the actual piece and pointed stuff out that I likely wouldn’t have seen.10reinforce： 加強；caption：（插圖、圖片等的）解說詞，說明文字。Although understanding context is important,actually consciously11consciously： 有意地，自覺地。consuming the art is equally (if not more) important.

Pay Attention to Your Reactions: Consume Art Consciously and Mindfully12 mindfully： 留神地，注意地。

A lot of times, we try to examine a piece of art based on skill (e.g., “Wow,I could never do that,” or, “Oh, my kid could have made that”). However, it’s important to remember that judging a piece of art takes your attention away from your reaction to, and feelings about, the actual piece.13不過重要的是要記住評價一件藝術(shù)作品會讓你忽略了自己對作品本身的反應(yīng)和感覺。Instead, shift your attention to your reaction to the art. How are you feeling when you hear the piece, or see it, or walk through an incredible piece of interior design14interior design： 室內(nèi)設(shè)計。or architecture?

This is why exploring abstract art can be so challenging. Many people quickly dismiss abstract art as something elementary, vague, and/or pretentious.15dismiss： 不予理會，不再考慮；elementary： 基本的，最初的；vague： 模糊的；pretentious：矯飾的，做作的。This makes it the perfect practice for being mindful as you consume it. Don’t judge it. Immerse yourself in16immerse in： 沉浸，使專心于。it and feel it. Christopher Reiss advises against trying to “see” things in abstract art and explains how to consume a Jackson Pollock painting:17Christopher Reiss： 克里斯托弗·瑞斯，美國佛羅里達理工學(xué)院心理學(xué)博士、美國紐約理工學(xué)院教授；Jackson Pollock： 杰克遜·波洛克（1912-1956），美國畫家，抽象表現(xiàn)主義繪畫大師。

It’s paint and surface, nothing else.Feel the swirls18swirl： 紛亂。. Their energy. Their tangling19tangling： 糾纏，混亂。. Pollock goes all the way to the edge of the canvas20canvas： （帆布）畫布，油畫。where it’s just as busy as the center. Feel the tension as everywhere the eye looks, you miss something. It’s hard to take in21take in： 理解，領(lǐng)會。.

It can be tricky22tricky： 棘手的。to balance spending time understanding context and history, while also being patient and attentive enough to examine the art and how you react to it. To help with the balance, ask yourself some questions without judging the art or comparing it.

Think About Art: Ask Guiding Questions

Questions can be great guides to focus your mind as it processes the art piece. There are different things to be sensitive to in each art form. For example, in visual arts, you’ll want to look for symbols. Consider the color palettes23color palette： 調(diào)色板。and combinations. When walking through a piece of architecture,ask yourself why the artist designed certain details or nuances24nuance： 細(xì)微差別。. When you’re listening to a live performance or a soundtrack, think about the beat,tempo, and mood changes throughout the songs.25soundtrack： 電影配樂；tempo：（音樂的）節(jié)奏。In some cases, listen to the lyrics26lyric： 歌詞。and think about their possible meanings (or double and triple meanings).

When art academic27academic： 學(xué)者，大學(xué)教授。Terry Smith confronts a work of art, he describes the four questions he tries to answer:

* What am I looking at (Or listening to, or walking through?)

* How was it made?

* When was it made, and what was happening in the world at that time?

* What is it saying? What is its meaning to the artist, and to us now?

There are many guiding questions you can ask, and each art form has different speci fic ones. For example, here are dozens of questions that you could ask while looking at a piece of visual art. You could tweak28tweak： 稍稍改進。some of these questions to be more relevant to another art form (e.g., Change, “How would you describe this painting to a person who could not see it?” to “How would you describe this song to a person who could not listen to it?”).

Learn How People Make Art

The final product of art may look like it’s easy to make. However,you never truly grasp29grasp： 理解，領(lǐng)會。the dif ficulties and nuances of a process until you learn about—and ultimately try—it. For example, rap may not sound like anything more than simple rhyme schemes30rhyme scheme： 格律，韻式。and poems.

A good first step to understanding how people make art could be to simply watch the process. For example, one of my favorites is watching how much work actually goes into producing what some may call a“simple” beat.

If you find yourself particularly curious about a certain art form or type,consider taking a class. It’s a step that will almost de finitely further enhance your taste, understanding, and empathy for art. Joshua Engel31Joshua Engel： 喬舒亞·恩格爾，美國導(dǎo)演、演員，參演了由莎士比亞的作品《仲夏夜之夢》改編的《瘋狂的機械》（The Rude Mechanicals）一劇。explains how to understand Shakespeare, but his advice can be applied to all art forms:

It’s not a secret, any more than it’s a secret to learn to enjoy food by eating and cooking things, and not by reading cookbooks without ever tasting. Yes, the language forms a speed bump, but it’s not nearly as big a hassle as it’s made out to be, because it’s not the point of the exercise.32是的，語言形成了（你表達想法的）減速帶，但這并不是多大的困難，因為鑒賞藝術(shù)作品的重點不在于此。speed bump：減速帶；hassle： 困難，麻煩。Watch the plays, enjoy the plays,then read the plays to see how the words went into making up that enjoyable experience.

Once you explore the process behind the art, you may grow to appreciate the dedication and work ethic that goes into each piece even more.33一旦你開始探究一件藝術(shù)作品的創(chuàng)作過程，也許就會越來越多地欣賞到創(chuàng)作者所傾注的心血和他們的職業(yè)道德。dedication： 付出，奉獻。

You Might Eventually Even Like Art

Hopefully, some of these techniques will enable you to hate art less (and maybe even grow to appreciate certain forms). Enjoying art doesn’t take a completely different way of thinking. Instead, it takes a bit of empathy and understanding, and a lot more focus and being mindful of the experience.In today’s fast-paced world, simply consuming art can be a challenging experience, but it’s one that is also extremely rewarding.