Art has a problem and it's not a shortage of talent, imagination, or creativity. There’s plenty of that. The real problem is the wall of jargon, elitism and self-importance that has grown up around it. Too often, the conversation about art is dominated by people determined to sound authoritative, as if art were a technical field that requires experts to interpret it for everyone else. The result is predictable: ordinary people feel shut out, intimidated, or convinced that art simply isn’t for them.
Paul Garrard's latest essay is a small attempt to push back against that nonsense. Art shouldn’t belong to a narrow circle of insiders armed with the right vocabulary and the right opinions. It belongs to everyone. You don’t need permission to enjoy it, and you certainly don’t need a lecture before you’re allowed to look at it. Art is exploration, feeling, curiosity, something open to anyone who wants to take part. In other words: art is for all.
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