this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2025
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So like...idk I'm not sure how to explain this.

I can enjoy art, and I can appreciate and respect art. But like...I don't know how to enjoy things "abstractly" per se?

What i mean is that I like reading and movies and paintings and such. But I can't enjoy "classics" per se. Nor can I enjoy Avant-garde art. But I can respect both. I want to enjoy both too. I've tried reading both Le Miserables and dream of the red chamber but both times ive put them down fairly quickly (although the dream of the red chamber book I was reading was a fairly old translation, so maybe that was it). Ive also tried reading some poems out of Vladimir Mayakovsky's "the backbone flute" but they havent ellicted and reaction from me. And I really, really respect avant-garde work. I would rather someone like Yoko Ono be successful over Blake Shelton, because Blake Shelton makes the most generic crap, while Yoko Ono actually tries to make things different and interesting.

But I kinda would rather listen to Blake Shelton (obviously if I have broader choice I'm picking someone like Woody Gunthrie or Phil Ochs, but if it was between Shelton and Ono, it'd be a tough choice).

So I guess my main question is how do people enjoy art in the "abstract" way (again, I know that's not a good term but idk what else to call it)? Because I see critics and such wax lyrically about this stuff and they seem to really enjoy it so I wanna enjoy art like that too, beyond "oh it's pretty" or "oh its fun."

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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

For you and everyone else lurking with similar query: learn theory and be dialectical in your approach.

Still visual media? Learn colour theory, compostition, light etc Then tie that in with theory of media you are analysing and the history of where the art is from and what it what trying to depict, including which classes produced it and which classes' perception it is reflecting.

Same for music, literature, films etc. In doing so you will develop your own tastes and also be better educated in analysis. If you learn enough chances you will produce your own as part of that learning process.

Read broadly. You will likely need to read a bit a about philosophy including marxist critiques on Nietzsche especially when it comes to the arts.

As your knowledge grows it will be easier to learn new stuff building on previous things; learning the interconnectedness not just within the arts but with also outside of the arts (history, geopolitics, philosophy, hard sciences etc) will make it so much easier to learn and enjoy.

Also because this is ML forum:

Addendum, a potential starting point - A Marxist Theory of Art by Red Pen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px6jRt99Qno

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: