Response to Hanna's "Is Art A Private Experience?"

Art, I think, is something we have come to value because of its versatility. A book might not mean anything to you, it could be the world to me, the idea by which I set my life, something I strive to put to everyday use. While the creation of the art itself is - in its way - important, I can't help but believe that it is the viewing of the piece that holds the most weight.

It's universally known that everyone is unique. There isn't one person in the world who thinks exactly the same way you do, or I do. We are all, in some - almost magical - way, different. So, of course looking at a piece of art is a personal experience. We scourge the piece for some semblance of a "meaning" and we find one, hopefully, eventually.

Humans, I think, enjoy art because it is something in which we have to work at. We like thinking, searching for something that is hidden to us. Looking for a meaning in a piece of artwork is a challenge - one that we love rising to. We like art because we can find something in it that - maybe - no one else has seen, and that makes us feel like we conquered the unknown, something humans are always struggling against. Giving something a meaning is in our nature and, one some level, it doesn't matter what the meaning is, as long as we think we have found one. It doesn't have to be right, it just has to be there.

If art is something personal though - and, of course, I think it is - why do we strive to find something universal? Why do we care what others think? Is our fear of being wrong so strong that we are willing to fight against our own feelings, our own minds, even, because we want someone to agree with us? Is it actually possible to hear someone else's interpretation of something and actually see it, or are we just all about lying in order to look better to the people around us?