How
do different people perceive art? This question has troubled me for a
long time and I finally put some effort into finding the answer. When I
say art I don’t just mean paintings and sculptures though. I am
talking about movies, books, music and video games as well. After
putting some thought into this topic I came to the conclusion of there
being four different stages someone can be in. With everyone starting
in stage one and ending somewhere before five.
The
first category is where everyone starts off. People in this category
will feel “as one” with the character depicted in the artwork and will
feel a strong emotional tie to whatever happens. Lets make an example
out of Dora. In the beginning of just about every Dora episode some sort
of conflict occurs. Nothing major though because if there was then the
5 year old watcher would get depressed. How about we have her lose her
scarf. Then Mr. Map tells her where the scarf went, which gives the
viewer a sense of relief. After that she conquers all the obstacles,
which gives the viewer a sense of accomplishment and finally she gets
her scarf back; giving the viewer a sense of reward. That pattern is
typical in all child shows and books because they are in stage one and
can’t handle loss, but also get strong positive emotions from happy
moments.
Stage
two of the perception of art is typically found in people that are
teenagers or maybe a little bit older. People in this category “take a step
back” from the main character and those strong emotional ties that
limit, and enhance stage one. People in stage two can handle sharp
emotional turns and catastrophic events that would make category one
people hide under their bed and cry. People in the second stage are
also thrill seekers. They look for something that can give them the
strong emotional feelings that they use to have in stage one. Either
through suspense, horror, or action. Sadly stage two plots vary so
greatly that I can’t give even a general example.
Stage
three is more of a transition stage than anything. Most people don’t
ever make it to this stage and sort of hover between stage two and
three. People in this stage typically play the role of an onlooker.
Not really attaching themselves the character at all but simply
observing because they think that maybe they will come across a movie
that can give them the thrills from stage two or the joy from stage one.
People that do get to this stage almost always graduate from this
depressing stage into stage four before too much time passes.
Stage
four is the final stage that a person can possibly be in. People in
stage four are masters of the piece of art they are looking at. For
example, a movie director would be in stage four for movies because
he/she would be able to say “I liked the way they that scene was
backlit, I should do that.” or “That character really drew me in. I
should try that.” Instead of actually putting themselves in the movie
or book, stage fourers look at the art as a critic would.
In
a nutshell all this piece says is that people fall into categories when
they look at art, but I found this topic interesting and meaningful.
Hopefully when you walk away from this piece you will not immediately
forget all of this information but rather digest it and think about
these concepts next time you are bored.
