bpseudopod wrote:
GlassMoon wrote:
The most sophisticated form of artistic appreciation, to me, is to surrender to something and escape entirely. What is a Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko painting but the most pure form of escapism?
It's curious that you would cite the overbearing presence of a Pollock as "escapism," because my understanding of his artistic project is that he intended to do exactly the opposite. The point of Pollock's paintings was not to take the viewer out of their context by absorbing them in their art, but rather to have the viewer project their thoughts onto the painting and thereby confront them with themselves.
I would call that a kind of escapism, though not the way we normally use the word. It makes you escape your environment and immediate surroundings. Escapism doesn't mean you have to abandon your thoughts; it could also mean that they're brought into a new engagement. Even if you're using your thoughts, they're surrounding you and enveloping you in a new state.
At least that's my experience with Pollock, Rothko, and similar painters. Pollock is a bit different because you can see his physical process more directly and imagine him as a creator, but I till think it stands. Of course, the way we engage with these is highly subjective, as it's meant to be.
