HOW TO LOOK CREATIVELY

If you are a sighted person it’s likely you take your eyes for granted. You will see thousands of images every day, and probably only really take the time to consider a fraction of them. Looking creatively is an a conscious act, it’s an in-depth exploration of the image in front of you. It’s looking a 3 specific areas; FORM, MEANING and CONTEXT. Form is the shape, line, colour, texture. Photographers and painters in particular know the theories of perspective and colour and use or break them in their work. The more you look at work the more you are able to appreciate the form, this study will help improve your own technique. The Meaning is the message of the work, what is the artist trying to say or what emotional connection are they trying to make?

Understanding the meaning can take time, it might mean making connections between different parts of the piece. Sometimes there are layers of meaning, or the meaning is very obscure. The meaning is whatever it means to you. CONTEXT, like us art belongs to a time (even it that’s a future time). It’s important to consider when the art was made, having some historical knowledge of what the world was like then will help you understand what makes this work outstanding – perhaps it showed a new artistic technique (like a new paint or hue), or a new style (a move away from a tradition or particular preferred style) or a provocative questioning of society’s conventions (controversial art often reflects us, an exaggerated representation of our failings and hypocrisies which might be a bit unpalatable). Knowing something about the artist (their life-story, their ideas, their peers) will again help you appreciate the artistic work. The more you look at art (that’s why benches are often supplied so you can sit and take it all in), the more you understand it, the more you will see the art in your own world.