Art History For Dummies
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Art is for enjoyment, fun, lifting your spirits. Looking at art should be a pleasurable, immediate experience. You can read about art, but looking at it is the only way to appreciate it. To enlarge your appreciation, follow these tips:

  • Look at ten works of art each day and your life will change for the better.

  • Art and politics never mix.

  • Art is not utilitarian.

  • Forget about art as an investment. Maybe in 50 years the prices of your works will be higher than when you bought them, but probably not.

  • Collect living artists. That way you’ll never buy a fake. You’ll also gain great satisfaction in knowing you’re supporting a cause not usually known for its economic well-being.

  • Every work of art, except for those finished yesterday, has changed from its original appearance.

  • A reproduction is always a pale reflection of the original.

  • Be sure to watch what kind of art your children are creating. One — or more — could have that super touch.

To judge whether a work of art is any good, ask the following questions about it to see how many can be answered yes:

  • Does it express successfully what it’s intending to express?

  • Does it amaze you in a different way each time you look at it?

  • Does it grow in stature?

  • Does it continually mature?

  • Does its visual impact of mysterious, pure power increase every day?

  • Is it unforgettable?

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