Skill in the digital age is confused with mastery of digital tools, masking the importance of understanding materials and mastering the elements of form.
John MaedaRead
When people say, 'I don't get art' ... that means art is working.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the confusion about art indicates its effectiveness in provoking thought and emotion.
John Maeda's quote illustrates that art's ability to elicit diverse reactions, including confusion or lack of understanding, is a testament to its power and relevance. When individuals express that they do not comprehend art, it signifies that the artwork is successfully engaging them, challenging their perceptions, and provoking inquiry, which is a fundamental purpose of artistic expression.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the subjective nature of art in an art appreciation class.
Skill in the digital age is confused with mastery of digital tools, masking the importance of understanding materials and mastering the elements of form.
Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.
In the '70s and '80s there was an attempt in K-12 to teach science through art or art through science. The challenge today is how do you build the ethos of art and design into the academy of science.
Technological advances have always been driven more by a mind-set of 'I can' than 'I should' Technologists love to cram maximum functionality into their products. That's 'I can' thinking, which is driven by peer competition and market forces But this approach ignores the far more important question of how the consumer will actually use the device focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can.
Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are considered "useless," will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously. The arts are the science of enjoying life.
Movies are dreams! And they work on you subliminally.
I've spent most of my life embracing violence in wars and revolutions. Even a famine is a form of violence. Because I photograph people in peril, people in pain, people being executed in front of me, I find it very difficult to get my head around the art narrative of photography.
I cannot say why I wanted to paint. The only answer is in the pictures themselves.
I think telling stories is like pushing something. Pushing against uncreation itself, maybe.
At Sarah Lawrence, I realized that everybody was already what they were going to be. The painters were painting, the writers writing, the dancers dancing. And nobody wore any makeup. The art was uppermost.
Of course it's why you want to become a writer - because you have the liberty to do that, but once you have the liberty you also have the obligation to do it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.