Joyrider

Hovis Brown [quote]asm I don't understand why people can't just look at something and say "i like it" or "i don't like it" and move on. That's what i do! :) Why do we feel the need to justify our emotional response to something?

i think saying 'i like it' or 'i don't like it' kind of ends the debate over the subject that a particular piece is trying to address. why do you study art? to confirm or deny that you like or dislike something?

surely art is not merely about justifying an emotional response, but rather about something much deeper?[/quote]

Hovis, i don't study art :). I'm at saint martins because I like the thrill of making things. I dunno what it is about the degree, but it's turning me into a complete anti-intellectualist and a complete hypocrit (and making me fantastically angry at the same time!)

You're right though: from the perspective of the viewer i think people try justifying their emotional response to an object of art because they are trying to make sense of the emotion they feel, but from the point of view of the artist, that isn't necessarily the reason why they made the work in the first place. For me though, it is i think.