How can I appreciate modern art?

Went to the Houston Art Museum. I'm no expert, but I have half a sense of art appreciation. If i don't "get it" on an artistic level, I can at least appreciate the craft, attention to detail, time and effort it takes to create a work of art. Then there was the modern art. I couldn't fathom it, nor could I appreciate the craft as it all looked so much like a rush job. How is a canvas with painted squares art? Or an acrylic cube filled with pink sand considered display worthy? I see no craft, nor any astetics. Am I missing something, or is modern art simply a statement that there is nothing left to explore?

How can I appreciate modern art?
People have written enough to fill an ocean on both sides of this debate. but if you'd like something to think about that might give you the context for this art think about this.





For thousands of years (leading up to today even) there were very strict definitions on what was and was not "art." At one point illuminated manuscripts, jewelry, and architecture were considered fine art, and painting was merely a lowly craft (painters would do well to remember this sometimes). However much the times changed this basic fact remained, by some arbitrary definition, certain things were art and certain things were not.





One of the arguments of the modern artist was that "we can take this thing, be it a urinal, or some trash, or a completely random design on a canvas, and this can be art!" that might sound stupid but they were saying that by giving art a strict definition (like a painting or a specific kind of sculpture) we were choking the creativity and the life out of it. So the next time you see something like that, think about it as a statement that there is no paradigm for art, and the creativity of the artist is what should be held in esteem, not the medium.
Reply:Will wrote: "At one point illuminated manuscripts, jewelry, and architecture were considered fine art, and painting was merely a lowly craft (painters would do well to remember this sometimes)."





Why would painters do well to remember this sometimes? Report It

Reply:I have come across the same problem (Christ in a bottle of pee, "aire de paris", pigs cut in half, 3mm smear of feces on a pedestal and other pieces such as these). However, I found that if I look at the statement behind the piece it becomes much more interesting. Look beyond what you see and try to understand the statement the artist is trying to get across.
Reply:While I, too, sometimes have trouble enjoying certain works of art, I think it should be understood that in modern art, you have to understand the context.





This is sometimes documentary context, i.e., the artist will have a written statement somewhere about why he/she created the work.





Sometimes the context is simply that the object is in a museum. While this may seem odd, it has an important history. When Marcel Duchamp got his "readymades" (a urinal, a postcard rack, a bicycle wheel, etc.) accepted into museum and gallery shows before 1920, he was making a statement. In the following quote, where he calls himself "Mr. Mutt," he explains "The Fountain," which is a urinal:





"Whether Mr. Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance. He chose it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under a new title and point of view -- he created a new thought for the object."





As far as paintings with squares of color go, what the artists are doing is allowing the full impact of the color or colors to affect you emotionally. As a viewer, you should allow this. It's often a thrill.