How should we look at art?

I have always found the subject of “how we must interpret art” very fascinating. So I thought that it would be fun to write a little bit about the subject and share my thoughts on it.

I think that there are three main ways one can look at art-

• The first way of interpreting art is to see it from the perspective of the artist. Here, one looks at the period of time during which the painting was created and the emotions that guided the creator to create his or her work.
  Now, for a very long time in history, art was used as propaganda, where ideas and beliefs were spread and promoted, especially among the illiterate, through the visual medium. So looking at art from the point of view of the artist means that our judgement of the work is heavily biased by the emotions and the intentions of the artist themselves. We are informed about the reason for creating the painting and we do not really add our own perception into judging the work. But, should our criticism and appreciation of a piece really be based on the underlying reasons behind the creation of a piece?
  This leads us to the topic of intentional fallacy. Coined by Wimsatt and Beardsley in one of their essays, it refers to the error in judgement that occurs when we judge artwork or a literary piece based on the intentions behind creating it. They believed that a piece of art stands as an independent entity whose real meaning is contained within itself.
• Therefore, a second way in which one can look at art is by understanding the autonomy of the work and thus judging it based on the emotions that the piece evokes from you. What this means is that your perception of the work will be biased by your own feelings. The state of mind you are in; your perception of colours, lines and angles; your opinions on topics are some of the key factors that come into play here. This method of looking at art thus opens the windows to people’s souls and shows us how they look at the world.
• Yet another way of deriving meaning from art is by understanding that it does not necessarily have to have a meaning. Art can be valued for its beauty alone and not for what it stands for. People thus can also judge a creation based on how visually appealing it is and how well it stands out in a room
  

So the next time we come across a piece of art how should we look at it?
Here is my input- stand in front of the piece and take your time in looking at the work through all three lenses: sometimes you will understand the intention of the artist for creating the piece, sometimes the work will evoke deep feelings out of you that allows you to connect with the piece, at other times you will enjoy the artwork solely the way it makes a room look better, sometimes you might even find yourself looking at it through a combination of these judgements.

However you end up judging the piece, by looking at it in this manner, there is no doubt that we will leave that creation with a much deeper appreciation for it and the creator.