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On art appreciation: How different personality types behave and interact with art?

Saslou

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Feb 1, 2009
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4,910
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ESFJ
I walk incredibly slowly, will stop and ponder. I like to see the art work from afar then move in closely to see if there are multiple meanings in the work. I may focus on a particular detail or place myself in the artists shoes so i can try and witness what he/she saw. Someone may see a stroke of the brush but i'm looking for the meaning/emotion attached to the brush stroke. I thoroughly enjoyed being in the National Gallery in Scotland and i'd go back again.

I remember when my ex took me to see the 'Voice of Fire' in Ottawa. For $1.8 million (back in 1989) i was expecting something spectacular and it was incredibly disappointing. I was looking at the canvas from the side and security politely yet firmly told me to step away. Oppss.
 

SilkRoad

Lay the coin on my tongue
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May 26, 2009
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INFJ
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6w5
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sp/sx
I walk incredibly slowly, will stop and ponder. I like to see the art work from afar then move in closely to see if there are multiple meanings in the work. I may focus on a particular detail or place myself in the artists shoes so i can try and witness what he/she saw. Someone may see a stroke of the brush but i'm looking for the meaning/emotion attached to the brush stroke. I thoroughly enjoyed being in the National Gallery in Scotland and i'd go back again.

I remember when my ex took me to see the 'Voice of Fire' in Ottawa. For $1.8 million (back in 1989) i was expecting something spectacular and it was incredibly disappointing. I was looking at the canvas from the side and security politely yet firmly told me to step away. Oppss.

Ohhh... I saw Voice(s?) of Fire years ago... LAME! I don't know if you're aware but there was a hue and cry across the country when the government purchased it. I think they also bought something equally boring and expensive from the same guy. Some farmer on the Prairies did a copy of it on the side of his barn just to show that he could. :laugh:

Canadians can be pretty pretentious about that kind of stuff though. They want to prove that they're world-class and refined and just make themselves look silly, small-time and pretentious. :laugh:
 

cascadeco

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Oct 7, 2007
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9,083
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9w1
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sp/sx
For starters, I've never really been a museum person; I tend to have a very short attention span when it comes to my remaining interested/engaged in what the museum is about - usually about an hour. So museums tend to be on the bottom of my to-do list in whatever city I'm in or traveling through.

With art museums, I generally just leisurely walk down the aisles/glance at everything, but don't often stop for a closer look -- mostly because I'm interested in an item as a whole and if I'm not drawn to it, I'm not drawn to it. Of the ones that draw me in or that I immediately appreciate, it may be due to the theme/aesthetics of it, and/or technical skill, so with those I will go in for a closer look and if especially struck by it, I'll then read any blurb about the artist/the piece. But I don't make it a point to try to 'understand' each piece, nor do I feel the need to try to appreciate each and every piece -- I tend to dislike much of the art I see, for one reason or another.
 

mujigay

Intergalactic Badass
Joined
Jun 9, 2011
Messages
532
MBTI Type
INTJ
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1w9
I don't go to museums often, but when I do, I make the most of it. I'll go at a medium clip, but I'm pretty anal about being sure to look at every single piece in the room. I'm not above snarking at the ones that don't impress me to the people I go with, but sometimes I'll just see that one piece that makes me stop in my tracks. Then I'll spend forever trying to suck in the atmosphere of it, the thoughts behind it, all the little technicals details and the movement that make it what it is. This happens particularly often with surrealistic pieces. I appreciate abstract art, but surrealism is what really appeals to me.
 

Saslou

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Feb 1, 2009
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ESFJ
Ohhh... I saw Voice(s?) of Fire years ago... LAME! I don't know if you're aware but there was a hue and cry across the country when the government purchased it. I think they also bought something equally boring and expensive from the same guy. Some farmer on the Prairies did a copy of it on the side of his barn just to show that he could. :laugh:

Canadians can be pretty pretentious about that kind of stuff though. They want to prove that they're world-class and refined and just make themselves look silly, small-time and pretentious. :laugh:

Canadians are world class for peace-keeping in conflict zones, they don't need a huge painting of 3 strips to prove it ;)
 

SilkRoad

Lay the coin on my tongue
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Canadians are world class for peace-keeping in conflict zones, they don't need a huge painting of 3 strips to prove it ;)

Oh yeah, there are lots of things we're good at, but when we're delusional, we can be VERY delusional ;)
 

Undeclared

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Oct 18, 2011
Messages
63
MBTI Type
INTp
I notice the way walls are shaped along with the walkways, as opposed to the placement of the paintings, their overall main color(if any), and the colors surrounding the painting(colors of the wall). If I have scaled the entire area I try to get an idea of the most abundant color displayed at the gallery(color of paintings,walls, all)and then use that color in my head to create a tye dyish kind of spiral picture, which I would then imagine on a shirt as a design. As a I look at this psuedo-gallery of a shirt I think to myself.....wow....what a fucking awesome shirt! xD

So basically I just try to think of something artistic while staring at a varying amount of different pieces that need to be appreciated properly. By declaring not to identify them as "who painted them" or "what the exhibits overall features are", you are not fully understanding why the pictures are in the gallery in the first place.

They are not just part of some bland gallery that "isn't comprehensive enough to cater a collection of all tastes", but as unique creations of someone else's mind that can be imprinted into yours. It's a mental fax machine in a sense.......It's beautiful to see other peoples faxes.
happy_crying.gif


edit: I'm intp by the way
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
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How do you move in the museum, at what pace,...

I tend to go at a fairly fast pace. I don't spend a whole of time looking at each painting, sculpture, etc. unless it really catches my eye or intrigues me in some way.

How do you look at the paintings, what are you looking at/for? please give detailed description of you interaction with the paintings... What are you thinking about, how much time do you spend appreciating them?

I take the painting in as a whole. I don't focus on smaller details unless the painting happens to intrigue me in some way. I also like paintings that have some originality to them, something I don't see everyday.

I think about how the painting inspires a sense of awe and wonder. I think about how talented the artist is to come up with something like that.

If its a painting I really like, I'll look at it for a couple of minutes and take it in. Otherwise, I tend to just glance at paintings in a matter of seconds.
 

crayons

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I move slowly in the museum and I'm sure to spend time on each piece. If there's any info beside the piece I'll read it, else I'll look at colors used, the brush technique on paintings (did they use fast strong strokes, small careful ones) and any symbolism I can think of that ties in with the work.
 

King sns

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I want to see something beautiful

Alright this here sounds like "the line that ruined the movie."
You've got mail- "I wanted it to be you... I wanted it to be you so batly"

[YOUTUBE="SPA8v06EsIY"]... @ around 1:48.....[/YOUTUBE]
 

curiousel

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what is the essential difference between SENSORS and INTUITIVES in the museum?
 

SilkRoad

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what is the essential difference between SENSORS and INTUITIVES in the museum?

I want to say that sensors might think more about colour/visceral impact/material/textures and their interplay, etc, and intuitives might think more about the philosophical and emotional implications of the art. But that is probably oversimplifying things... I'm not sure it is that type-dependent.
 

Jiya

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Let´s say you are given an invitation for an art gallery, and you are left alone while there.
How do you move in the museum, at what pace,...
How do you look at the paintings, what are you looking at/for? please give detailed description of you interaction with the paintings... What are you thinking about, how much time do you spend appreciating them?

Please don´t go into details about the exhibit and about if you like the artists or not. You are at any important museum that has a comprehensive collection to cater all tastes.

I´m looking for a summary of your behavior in the museum and what you do and what you think?

I wouldn't mind spending ages if I am captivated by a painting. Usually though I move quickly with a quick look at photo realism, opting to look at more impressionist and surrealist art. Paintings interest me more than sculpture for the varied dimensions they offer. I look at a painting and I am simultaneously bombarded with: Deep appreciation, pleasure, looking at the colour and light technique, how the brush strokes affect the perception, the socio cultural context in which this work was created, what the painter brings to the piece, his relationship to the subject, the meaning and message of the art work, the irresistible desire to touch it :smile: I am particularly arrested by Cubism, Surrealist art and angles. Angles are very attractive. Abstract is beautiful. As are black and white pieces. Not very into portraits of famous people, or wildlife. I also think about whether the message of the art can be translated contemporarily, if yes how and could it be done better? Juxtaposition of multiple cross contextual perspectives to get at a unified new one. All this usually takes very little time in my mind. My mind also goes back to similar pieces I have seen, either in theme or art style or by the same artist. I draw association between style and works. It feels like a meditative/tranquil experience, the one place where my mind is both active and yet, unfrenzied.

ETA: ENTP here, and I would give the blurb a quick glance for basic details, like style, era etc. The rest is derivative from my interactions with the painting and surroundings.
 
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If I can't make up in my mind any link with my own life and feelings, I won't be captivated for long.
I try to enter the soul of the artist and see why such and such etc. No one has intrigued me more than Salvador Dali. I had travelled for hours to reach 2 museums with exhibitions about him.
When I understood a part of his childhood, it wasn't so fascinating anymore. I apparently need an atmosphere of "mystery"/intrigue.
 

Sacrophagus

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Let´s say you are given an invitation for an art gallery, and you are left alone while there.
How do you move in the museum, at what pace,...
How do you look at the paintings, what are you looking at/for? please give detailed description of you interaction with the paintings... What are you thinking about, how much time do you spend appreciating them?

Please don´t go into details about the exhibit and about if you like the artists or not. You are at any important museum that has a comprehensive collection to cater all tastes.

I´m looking for a summary of your behavior in the museum and what you do and what you think?


One of my friends has a gallery full of paintings and collectibles. I was moving slowly, scrutinizing what he had fairly fast, interacted with some antics, and stopped at one particular painting. A graceful naked woman with airs of mystery and compassion feeding her child in an abstract setting. It resonated with me somehow.

I wouldn't stop in front of everything because in my mind there's already something I'm looking for. It's the same as looking for inspiration.
 

The Cat

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I like textures and colors.
 

Zhaylin

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Art is so subjective. If it's something I'm interested, I'll dawdle and take it all in: the colors and image if a painting; all of that plus the angles and fragility if glass; all of that plus the heft and the ring (or lack thereof) if I can actually pick up the glass.
If it's stuff within a case, within a formal setting (and several people), then I bore quickly and want to leave as fast as I can. I don't care that much about theory or history. I can learn about that on my own, in my room, in comfort where I can vape in peace :laugh:
 
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