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Showing posts with the label true artistry

The Last Voice in Art Appreciation

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  When it comes to art appreciation, I often wonder why my opinion doesn’t matter. I know why — but it has little to do with how much knowledge I have about the subject. And I am not alone in being inconsequential. In truth, the perspective of the common man has rarely influenced what is considered valuable or significant in the art world — and that is unlikely to change. Art, much like power in society, is shaped by those with the resources and reach to dictate cultural narratives, regardless of what the majority feels. When it comes to art criticism, the voice of the man on the street rarely counts if it doesn’t align with that of the elite critics. His thoughts live and die in informal corners — at tea stalls in Kolkata or Trivandrum — but seldom travel beyond. The psychology of how we perceive art is complex — a code difficult to breach, an algorithm impossible to decipher. There are countless stories of world-class musicians performing incognito in train stations, unnoticed by...