^ To platform off of what [MENTION=25763]Dreamer[/MENTION] is saying and to provide something kind of opposite, when I create art I am not attempting to convey any 'idea' at all, so people viewing it who decide there is an idea being conveyed are probably assigning their own idea to it. Unless I am misunderstanding what all falls under this notion of an 'idea'. I create subjects and use colors which inspire me and which I find aesthetically cohesive and pleasing. You could say I find personal value and beauty in the things I choose to paint, and my moods probably leak into the paintings via colors and style I use, but I never have any grand 'idea' I am trying to convey.
So I'm kind of opposite, in that I am often drawn to, or not drawn to, the aesthetics of a piece, and what it is 'as it is' first, because I think there's a fair amount of art that is just that. However of course there is another segment of art that is more about conveying an idea, metaphor, whatnot -- and so for me that would come later on if I decide to even go there when looking at a piece of art. But, too, there's always the risk of just seeing what you see in it (which is fine)-- never hitting the mark of what the artist was actually thinking, feeling, conveying [or not conveying].