Modern Art

The great artists of the past were aware that human life is full of chaos and suffering. They had a remedy for this, and the name of that remedy was beauty.  The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow and affirmation in joy. It shows human life to be worthwhile.

But art turned its back on beauty. It became a slave to the consumer culture, feeding our pleasures and addictions, and wallowing in self-disgust. . . They do not show reality , but take revenge on it, spoiling what might have been a home and leaving us to wander unconsoled and alienated in a spiritual desert.

~ Roger Scruton
Why Beauty Matters

Why Beauty Matters: Roger Scruton

My earliest introduction to modern art was probably at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the Ohio State University campus. My oldest brother was a tour guide there, so we liked to visit occasionally. As a child, I was probably most interested because there were interactive "works of art". For example, one exhibit had a refrigerator that you could open and take food out of.  Other pieces had explanations that I could more or less accept. Some I just didn't bother with.
As I've grown up and visited more art galleries and museums I've come in contact with more modern art. I suppose I've never felt sure enough to say that I think it is ridiculous, but I really don't have any esteem (is that the right word?) for most of what falls into the category.
For the past few months, I've been using a book Come Look With Me to talk with my young ESL students about landscape art. I try not to tell them what to think about each painting, or to use leading questions. Several of my students are quite intelligent (I'm not just saying that because I'm their teacher.). It has been refreshing to hear their opinions of the different pieces. When we got to the more abstract pieces, I was a little afraid to criticize, because I wasn't sure how to explain my opinion of art and beauty.
Yesterday, my husband borrowed a few books from the library. One of them was a book on beauty by Roger Scruton (a modern day philosopher and writer). This afternoon I read the introduction while waiting for Joel to finish his large cappuccino at Juan Valdez. Then, since I had ironing to do when we got back to the apartment, I decided to look for something I could listen to while working. That's when I found the following video, a documentary about the same topic as the book.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiajXQUppYY

This is not a video for children to watch.  At least not without parental guidance / editing. 
minute 16, 30 seconds of minute 26, and some starting at minute 41. 

However, for those interested in a well thought-out and clear explanation against what some people define as art, as well as a defense of beauty, I recommend that you either watch the documentary  and or read the book.