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WORLDSOFART

RobettBnssanJAMESMADISON UNI 'ERSITY

MAT'EIELDPI'BLISHING

oCOMPANY

MOUNTAIN VIEW,CAIIFORNIA

LONDON . TORONTO



Chnpter

Is there onc correct wav oflooking it an) wehale oticn bccn encourxged o thint so. Pro-ponents fone or anorher chool farr rppre.iati()n ba\.cconsistendv ried ro tell us that\\'e, oo, shouldadopta specific antage oinr.But isn't aft itself oo complex nd aried to:Iorv lor a single approrch to apprcciation),{nd arcft ve, the viewers and consumefsofthis diverseworld of an, too dillerent in ourresponsnecapacities o be chamclcd into asinglewayofsceing? s cirizens, e retuseoolerate that kird of rcgimenrarion n our polidcal ife. To submit o it in our aesthcticife

is equally nxcceptable.Docs this m€in that an appreciition is Lrn-reachableand thar no orgalizcd effoft shoddbe made ro de\€lop itf Cenaid,v not. Wc canformulate many useful statements abour anappreciation, providcd thosc statcmena imirthemselves o genenl principles aid do notprcsume to dictate individual experience.From thcm ne can earn n enormous mountabour the inlinitel,v complex rclatioruhip be-meen an and hegorld it bodr mirrors andcreates.Wirh dris as our underlvhg xsump

TheProcessfAppreciation

tion, $'e present n thc tblox,ing pagessogeneralbur time-honorcd apprcaches o art,and the reidef is encouraged o usc thcm asspringboardsnto hisor her far more subdc.tar morc idioslncratic personaladycntures nseeing.

As r\e ine Worldsof Aft implies, r,re willexplore a widc range of an forms and engageill a r.arien ofapprcciative experiences. omeof thcse experieDcesrc prinarilv emodonrl;others, ntellectual. ome nterlacc motions,intellect,and senscsn a hotisricx cavc.Ccftaineiiperiences oint tox ard spiritualiw, nherem

others take us into thc raucous forum ofpolirics. Ar1 appreciation cannot be neatlvpigeonholcd or sunmcd up in a con 'enientfornuli, b€caureappreciation s an encounterfiled i'ith human variabilin. Ir brings togcther in sensitile diilogue a $ ork of arr, theproductofa pafticulardme and placc,and aviewer, uniquc in backgrourd, valucs, andp€rsoDah(.

As a 6rst exampleofl hat suchanencoLntermight be like, let u-r look at the reactions ofonepersontoone xinring.Anundergraduate



THE TROCFSS OI AF?REC]ATION

srDdenrrkifq in jn(oducticxrto an courc\ (,re rhe fi,ll(^ring abourhcr cxpcricncc fO rh (: l i l f , l ) t ryl ' (1. l) by Clrude ,knref

118401926):

whcn nr gh.ce ili l|on rhepinnnrg. $assrddenh tdsli)rncd ntro hc mistand.,xnnr$rrd silerr se.rer hrr is th. scl Th. ocern s.rlnr bluc nd g.cenwirh rorches fpinl atrdprrplc. Th. skr is frle, piler rhr. rhe ocern.and rhere s r hnn of pmk and \.lldr on thchorir(lr. I'enrir io rn lbur ihe st Nill t\.blvc Nih urs.t.

There s a oDeress. u ty lnong sk . rcck.ind occan. r all flo\rs rvith rhc srnrc r\rhmlthe i,k€s rrL€rc., grr.etul,a.d lr€. The dillin drc brckgrou h.\ c rlnrostn\crgcd vidr iecedr. o v ar rhelr sumrn is . conrast tx-nreen errh d sky discrnablc In nre ti).c

F(Nnd ire.litli;(n

nor. di$in.tirc |udc rndgre€nhues.drd o rhe occrt side.dr€res uoricrcfting ofclir colored cck orsand.

Thc a,t,\t hasnanspoftcd $ o r $orld d.foft of pcopLc f th.ir nrnuence.-AI {t se€ sI"rer. eifth, and skr. And evcndrcse cem o\rnr t) nrogc wth er.h othcr, sharc ach )th

cfs cniit\. t rsc lrccfc ofdr. bcholder f fie

lighr rhrr srfftrsesdrd. sei, nd iir.Thefe re K) nmnr diltlrcnt (t(ns th.t thNc,nn()t rh\rlt bc scpifutcd or dntnrgrnhcds nil.rl - drere rr€ so m rnrv. tnn stokesth.r rhc water s sm.Ddr ud lti{]ess. IL,sr sdft)ps )fNrtcr mrL. thc s.r, rn.l grahs()i sandl-orn rlrc shorc.s .rch rln sroke ofcolor forDsrhis liNrlcssp.rinring. tich is onl r glin.e.\\hm I .(,nt cl()sc () the pa,nting. mrrdsorr of,ts m\ncr\. bur irs per.e sere sspexl nore cle.rh frd .fir. rlesides, my c\cd(Et .(tr s:nr to n,il r..l ]i.gcr. It s r.rt t(, i( )r$a\ and coft. ba.k $id lbr 1lrcsh glD.c.$ hlch eadr rnr beholds i

'l hr.mgh drc sunlit .rn ofl\e F rench piinter

lloncr. rhis snrdcnt $as trmsportcd rnd L . ( i r (bf I loNLr.

25rrN 39li. rbe rh,rri$ColL(non, ish'olaon. C



THE IROCESS OI AP?RICTATION

chromogenic color print,

transformed. Drx$r irro a world disrant in

time and place,vet a \'ibrant as dre dav theartist paintcd ir, the young wonan experienced he seeminglv imcless power of greataft to morc us. Her aesth€ticexperience fo,thr Ct'lF, DiWe, a heightencdblend ofsense,€motion, ind thought. a$.*€ncd in her amorc vital sense of narure md hcrseliThrough her nteraction with thepainting, shebecame, or a signiicant moment, morc tullvand vividlv aLire.Sudr experiencesf in ;n-variibly becomc arcofus, cnriching u| liveswell into the future.

In another undergradrate essav.a sRdenrwrote abour he i'ork of PeterReiss born1953).An award-whnhg anistj Reirs s alsoan epileptic sho suffcred a srroke that para-

hzed his right side. People*'ho are severelvr€rarded 3nd phvsic.ll,v mlformed, so oftenhidden rom our riew, :-rehis subjecrs1.2).In the conclusion fhcr papcr,a deeph af-fectedstudent wrote these vords:

Imagine a roothpdre comercial shoNingchild rvith orercrorvded teerh ,nd r h 'dro-

cephalic hcad. is Reiss has done unlbasliedh'.

rnaginem dvenisehenrwirh somerhing drer

thu be.urin , comfortable, r "nornul" p@-plc. Tbekind of huu beingsReiss cl.braresvill rarelybecelcbritedn picrx6. rr is e.sv olbrget rhen as hevspod iheir livs in bedsorin inslitutions.Reiss s nor rcpelledbl theirfeantrcs r liigilitlj rarher,he-is attracicdbythetr strength.Pdhaps$r should olov his

The photographs of Petcr Reiss belon8 toa noble aftistic tradition that has sought tomake visible fie livcs of those $,ho ar€ nor-mallv inlisiblc: the "abnormal," the poor, the

oppressed.vitness lrr N,l,r, afthePojr (l .3),r mur3l by Mex;can arrist Dicgo Rnera(1886 1957). ainted with a loving brush.tu\.eral poor ffc pennilessbut noble, tired yerrlot without hope. Assuredlv, rt has theporver to make hc invisiblc visible.

Rcalms of expcr;enceo cr rural perspec-rives itde known ro the majoriw ofthe pop-ulation can reach thc public consciousnessthrcqr rlle fbrcctul nnagesof arr. Anists,for erample, rvorking from rn cthnic or fcminist pefspective akeus deep\ isrre ofdre

divcrsc ultureshatrnake p our\|orld. Con-



TTII IROCESS OI ATPRECL{TION

1.,1 HA .r \'IooDR rr.N,ttDIdr4 nurl Fncl

Nrjtu, 1950 l95l Oon cm s. 14,1 l,r4'

sider be nujcsticmulrl ser'rcs,Then of tue

-\-rrl, ( t .4, Appred ation I ) by Hale Woodrufborn 1900) or the epic enlircnnrental on

\nltctio\The Dinncr Pn ,rJ(Apprecixtion 32)br ludY Chic,rgo lbon 1934J. Tbe DiMerPtdy includes trblc, seftings, nd indi;-duilized ceranic plares n prdsc of great,ohcn lnderackno\iledged *.omcn of thep.$r.Thc plate(r.5) ded;catedo SojourncrTruth (1797 1883), he courageou.rfrican\nlcrican abolitionistaid feminist,empha-sizcsSojourncis proud African heritige indher pdntul lif€ in sl 'efl. Central ro bothiYoodrutrs an.{Chicagds $.ork is rhe themeofrcco\€ring one's Nral past o aiiirm.rndhuildone'sprcsentdentitv.

The cxpericnccof :rn cn teich os thar rhe,1.tof looking nrenselv. f openingour sen-sibilities to the world, vields I humanizingrc$ ard in the prcccssof li\.ing. In a pcriodhen the need for sensitire, open mindcd

b€ingss8r€arcr han eler, art erpericncesharrpandour consciousness nd deepenour hu-anityareessentill.

SoJMt I tudi, plare hd



THE IROCI SS Of ACI&ECL{TION

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TIII I'ROCASSOf AItlttClArIoN

UnIbftunately, nor all works of art €nlargeour horizonsand sensibiiiries.Somemastefulsork' of ,rn can r€srricrour rwrren€\\ .trlddebrseour hurnanirv.An aff ,rpprec'aronconcemed irh (eeing nlv rhegood.nue. or

beauriiil in workr of an is incompl€re. Thesorld of rn rr far roo compterand muJo-dimensional or such anorientarion.We mus.also leam ro amllze and understand those\i'ork offuncrional, mass-media, nd fine arrthar limir or elen en.l,rrt rhe hurn:n spinr.Two "classic" an films by directors ofginius(€ne ,rs euingexamplesTnLnph of b? Wi(1.6), dir€ctedby I-eni tuefenstahl (bom1902i i( supposedlv cjnema'c"docum€nrof rhe 1934 Nuremburg rll\. a spe(rdcularpoLiricrl

er€ni org$ired bv Hrder and theNaziprrq rosury dreGerman eopte o rherrsid€.Fiued u ifi dranrrjc cmera composlrion' and eyhilararing drtingsequenceshrtitrxrapo\ehorrof a godlikeHider u irn scenerofmriesdc Nuremburg nd adorinB roqdsTnun?h of th tzili i( an Jrinic ma\repi€c€andcanbeappreci:red . .uch.Y€r rr \ al5opowertulpieceoffascistpropaganda.avishtl,produc€d vrrrd or rheNai p:rn, ir qlorifierHirlerand n.virm qhile hrding rom rew the inilent racism nd iolenr mp€riJ inrenrions

of the Third Rerch As , srrrrrnqprn of ;nrgru\' cnectrrepropaganda &npargn. henljn helpedo bring ro pouer oneofthe mosrmurderousregimesn history. As art, it r€tainsthe po\i€r ro inspirefascisrs frhe presenrandtuture $ hil€ resrherical\ educmg here\i olus nroenJo\ug rsartttrrc orm ar heexpens€of forgeaing he horror ic bodr masked ndmadepossible.n chi< esatd.Tnumth ofthel{zrli murt alsobe appreciatea .conre'xruilf;

that is, in the cont€rr of a.tual life. If w€ aD-

preciate his fiIm onlv for irs anistic form, riefo^rget ome of dr€ most hearrr€nding essons

Another example of air's transformari\€po$er is rh€ silentclassicTheBirtb ofeN$inn(r.7), directed bv D. W. crifrrh (18751948) This 6lm seerns vercapabte fsrvavingaudi€ncemembers o cheer he exploirsoftheKu KhL\ Klan, a group that haspracriced acia.lbigotrv and lvnch mob terrorism lor morethan a centurv. At such unsetdingmom€nrs,

it is apparent hou' complet€lv ir.t, especiallv

greatarr, car calrv us away, convinc€usofiisreality, ho\r.eler distort€d, and tnnsform urfor befter or worseand sometimesboth.

.Through experiencesike rh€se, houghtfin

\re$err ht\e com€ o under\candhdran,:f,-

pr€crauonr noi mplr I manerofresrhcucenjoyment.S\irel.t Ti't bph oftheWill atdTtteBirthofe Nat m {e.o6e dpprecirredor fieir€nduring anisricqualiries, rrespectiveof rheirreprerrire oliricJconrenr. uirhet musialsube rppreciaced onre),ruathor u.h.u rheirlorm md concenr.rn each s,borhqoodandbad.about oursetvesand our historul

WAYS OF SEEING: FOR-MALISM

4 CONTEXTUAI,ISM

Becau\en r\ \o mul$facerednd cm movcus in so many I'ays, one,sided or narovmelhodi of lJr .rpprecijLion re nsufrcienr.We needrn rpproach hlt ir ar oncemoreg€ner.l ,nd comprehen\ire. uchan rn apprecrriionnughr be rchieled bv combiningrwo ir,rdjrionally irrinciurvs ofreeing: formali\m md concexrualsm.n the formalistwayof seeing,arr is apprcciated or the entiv-ening aesrheticexp€riencets visual

form canprolide. Th€ nam€ ormalisft stenrs rcm rheprimary focus on the arristicform ofrhe work:its line, shape, color, tc\true, composition,and so fonh. For the formdist an is to bevalued for its anistic qualities ("an for art,ssake"), s€parare rom its connec.rionso thelarger$'ortd. In th€ case f a, ikfl tikeTiqnphof tbe lVilL, rhe iewer would concentrateonth€ $ork's formal qualiries (for instance,cam,eracomposjrions. diring rhlrhmr, lerrings.lighringeffecrs, ialogue nd soundnack. a-

cial€]pressionsnd gesrures)'hile rgnoringrhe nbn-scomexrual eLadonthipso Hrder,nazism,propaganda,and so on. Such "non,anistic" considerations,rhe formalist wouidirgue, or v detracr ron the vivii,ing aesrheticexpenencehe work\ anisric orm can pro- ide. Alrhough rhe formalrsr pproach ,:resax av hrsrory, moralio, ard rimraltv ererv-thing other chancolor, shape, echnique,andcomposirion,rhi5 appro,rchdoes ger rhe\ rcwer o Look loseh nd rerpond uh eetng

to tlre s€nsuousquaiitiesofthe an object. As



t0 TIIE PROCESS OI AP?RICTATION

such, he formalist x'a)' ofseeing seems goodsraning point for the appreciarioDof art.

In contrast o formalismj contertualism isconcernedwith the appreciadon f an "in

context"; thxt is, in relation to the r€st oflife.Like a side argle camerashot, contextudismtakes n the big picture. Of relevxncc s cvca'thing that surroundr and relates o the llork

ofaft: the vie*,er; ie artist; he physical et-ting ofthe work; the irt, cultlrre, and societvthat ga € binh to it. For the conre{tuilisr, atull appreciarionof Tnrmph aftbe Wilt is impossible ;thout informatiol about ts direc-tor and her creative process,aswcll asknonl-edge xbout Hider, mzism, propaganda, andGerman,v n the t930s. The strong point of

dre conrer.rudist approich is its abilitv to ex-pard our undcrstanding <,f he $.ork in rela-tionship to the lrrger'r'orld. Contributing totbis undcrstandirg are tr\e research nd ideisofan criticsand historians, svchologists,o,ciologists, the vierver, aDd signifioDt othcrs.In contrasro $e redrctive ocus fformalism,contextualismoft'crs he viewer rnanv u aysofkrcking at and giving meaning to the $ ork ofrt. lts mijor limirarion, hc formalist loutdargre, stel11..j,n its primarv concern $'ith

facts and theories. In rheir intellectual cnthu-siNns, conteritualists can oftcn enphasizcfacr finding ind theoriz;ng to rhe exclusionolarlvsensuousesPonseo the work ofart.

TOWARD A COMPRTHBNSIVBAPIRBCIATION OI ART

Rathcr than considering fbrmalnm and contertualism as mutualy erclu.sive wa)r ofseeing, as nconpatible ir fire ard sater, rve

cnr recognizc th:n both ha\€ :r good deal tocontribuce ro a holistic or comprchcnsive pproachto an appreciation.A prinaril,v formresponse,akin to the undergraduare tudenCsexperieDceof Monet's on the CliJfr, DiWe(l.l), r'ould appear o be a naturalstaningplace or the appreciation rocess.With litdeor no kno$ ledge ofNlonet or his impression'ist swlc of painting, he studenr 'as rble oachieve deepl]'personal xpcricncc f thcu ork bisedon hero\\'n percepdons houghts.

and feelings. A broader coltextual under-standing of the *'ork, bascd on commentarv

by thc artist, an hisrorirru, and social scicn-tisrs, \iould bdLd on that initial pe$onal ex-p€ricnce, maling for an increasingly ich andcompl€x appreciation.

We can rpplv the formal ind contexrualtt rys of seeing ro Vincenr van cogh's TrtNigbr Afe (I.8) to demonstratehon a com-bination of thesetwo approach€scxn bringabout x more conprehensivc appreciation ot'art. Although our palticulrr experiencc f 7,&rNight Cafebeg;nswirhthe fbrmilist xpproach.there is no mle dictating that evcrvone needemploy the nvo $'a)s of sceing n sequentblordcr. We separatehen into such deuly dis-tinct entities and apply them in sequenccrnairrl,v or the srke of introducing fie trl'o

modes of appreciation. Afrer ma$ering theformal andcontexrualapproaches,eaderswillprobab\, 6nd that thcy, like che rnajoriry ofexp€ricnced iewers, nterweavedre two, mir-ing Geling with fact, sensuou- esponsenithintetlcctual insight :tnd unders$nding. Ulti-matelv, pcrsonal temperament and prrpose.cr tur3l backgrouDd,and the specifc work ofan determine the nature of eachan apprecia-

VAN GOGH'S AZGI{T O\FXJAN AIPRECIAIION

A Forma'bst xzqpozre. ".From a formalistpoint of vie$,," xrtisr J€rry Coulr€r (bom1936)explains,aI that s Decessarys harwelook at the *.ork 01 ar.r. tuowing who did itolivherc it came rom night be interesting,but lt r nor neccssar\' o our rcsponding rothe x'ork." Wtat is necessary,e nsists,s toallo$ ourselveso respond dircctly ro the for-

mal propeniesofthe an$-ork, becauset is inth€ line, sbap€and space, cxmre color. andcomposition that the feeling of the work isconrdned. What folo\\s is Coulrels own response, n tnre formalist fisbioi,to TbeNightC'tf'.

The mostposerlirl elcmemn ihis snExDainr-ing s cold. Thecolor s acidic. t hasa sr;FhJ inren\iqdrt.s-Mplca.dri. hc l,ghr d

sion ud mease.One doesnt haye o tnowabou rm cogh's pcrsoml iii or his anisdc

nrentions o feel hcleemoriors.Thevareem-bodicd n rhe colorrcladonslipsi.9l. The



IIIB PROCESSOI APIRECIATTON l l

value bAhFdrkl conrrasrs\ TheNBhr Csf. -from I'ghr \ex;s ro dart reds d dtue-gKns-tr \en srrcnCJrhough iCs nor a\duc-orimredp,inring n rhe r.didonal*nse.Then there de the discordur conrturl of thereds againstthe gltos. All of these conndtscr€atea rosion and €xciremot.

fihen one look ar rhe naterial itself thewav the paint b put on in rough, hea\y re\:rures

I r. r0] - rherct a kind of adiew in it. There's atcrarchre. alnosr nailins in someDlae s oo-pGed to", fluid. render"rouchins of bruh iocmvs. Ard .lthough there is coffrol, dFr€reems o be a psvchoric ntensiw b€hind it. It'sall put dosn rc excirablv, s@tched iffo orrnrot offo rhe picturc $rface.

Atrmated by dre inte6e, unplearaft .olor,the space n lhe piinting fels alnosr dastro-phobic. The pe$pecti € ofthe interior leads heev€ o a linle I'ellow opming in the backofthe

@m which appears o be elecrricaly hor. lfsnot the kind of placeone would enter to calndoM. It has d electric .diew. The (ol blN-grcn ribriring againsr hat biisrering, hor I'd-low in rhe op€ning; rhefre just incomparible.And th yellow is the brightest, hottest spot inthe etrtire picrur€. It noves tolvdd the ere .l-

though, in telrns ofa reilisric sparial eprsenra-tion, it's supposed o be the areamost distmtftom u. Yer dorhq incompatibility dd soue

In keeping with rhexe distortions of spacemd color, rh€ lines in the back of the painringue d thick md strong 6 the lines in rhe fore-glound [r.rll. Thlt doesnt make sense.Soagain one g€is rhe fecling rhat the space s notright. Th€ret sonerhhg rrcng wirh rhe space,and a]lhowh fie dncrepocies are relatirclrsubde tom a realistic point ofview, onf feelsa

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T'IIA P&OCESS OF APPRICIATION l3

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14 TH }ROCESS OI APIRBCIAfiON

r,r2 . Shap. n Th. Nitrt Sloping dovnwdd at d inposiblv shdpusle, the pitch of the floo nakes ou seroeofbalanceprecarious.The shadow undef the pooltable dtdds this fteling of ucde . Ils d @z-ing, $-eighry kind ofthing. Vo Gogh is clearl,vno tNing ro depicr drc ictuzl space tTbe NithtCat. Het trying to convey the feeling of the

cafe,dr kind of tosion dd remoreness mdbeingscu actu.Ir feel sm when in dose prox-imiry to eachother.

The shapesll. l2l ofthe figures displaved ndre cafe coovey a rveightitrssi rhe sritrlenicatfiglliej the hmched dJinkersi the lumps of hunditl sitting at the tables. They atl seo im-mobitired bur filed wirh tesion. Their gestuesare not friendlr bui rather standomsh ones.They lack in eaxeand natur.tness.

Th. pdnting\ o\eral conposition, charac-rerizeds ir is bv contrasr, ariert, ud a dr/lrmicasrrffnetricll balaffe, strengthens rhe firelinggeneraredbv the indilidual elemots ldFt is,

Ihe e, color, rerrure, spice, md shapel.What is realv so intersting

^bo\1rTheNbbr

Cal is fiar ir is so smal 1287,br'36v{ inchsldd yet so powerftn. I rhink dFt's one of thechams ofvm Gogh\ paintings. Thet'le so smaland intim e, \'erwhen one jsdrawn ioto then,their intosiqv sdds )ou reding. Thals the kindof Rn.ion ud ps\cholorgicJ o\er drir ch$-Jctenks \m GoHh Jrt.

A C,onre"'tttalitr ReEorBe. Lonely and iso

lared from his fellow human beings, Vincent

van Gogh (1853 1890) (l.rs) pour€d out

his most intimace thoughts and feelings inhundred.s f letters to a small group offamilvmembers nd friends. n a Septemb€r 888

letter to Theo, his brother and ever supportivefriend, Vincent van Gogh tells ofhis financialhardshipand ofa new painting he has ecentlycompleted. t is caled ?r, Nbht Caft, and he

hopes that his landlord, r'ho is also he cale'sou'ner and the central6gure in the wor( *illbu,v t, therebv easinghis dnancial burden. Inthe excerptdrat follo\r-s, r'an Gogh relates hecircufistancessufrounding the creation ofthe{,ork, describes he painting in formal detail,and toucheson his anistic intentioru.

Thfl to rhegreat or of the lddlord, of drpGtmm \Lhom had alread,v ainted,of thevisitingnight provleB ud of mlself, for threedghts ming I sal up ro paint dd lvdi to bed

duilg the da,v. oftd thinlthat the dghr is

nore alive dd nore ricbly colored hu rhe dar.Now, .s for gening bick the monev I hav.

paid ro the landlord by nem ofmy p.inring, Ido not dwel on thar, for the picture is one ofthe wliesr I hare don€. lr is the eauivalent,rhousi ditrer€trt, ofthe "Poato rateJ' 1aaargpowertullr e\pressneponrayal, pairred by vmcogh sveral lcds wlie , of p@r peNants eatins a meall (9.29).

I h$'e tried to dpfs the terible pNiorsof hmsitr by mems of red ud green.

Th€ room is blood r€d rnd ddrk vellow witha gren biliard table in the middtei drer€ de

four cnron ydlos lmps widr a glos oformgedd gred. Everyvhtre rhere is the clash lndconrrasr of rhe mGt dispante redr dd greensin the ngues oflirle sleepinghooligas, in thempry, drem roo4 in \ioler $d blue. Th.bL@d-red d thc \eUo$ gres of rhe b ]lJdtlble, fo. instdce, contrdt widr the soft renderLotris XV green ofthe couter, on which thereis a pink nosga,v. The white coat ofthe lmdlord,arvake n a corner ofrhat firnac. tlltr citron-

1elow, or pale uminous gro.'z

Through van Gogh\ words, the painthg

rakes on additional levels of meaning. As

"'elearn more about th€ paifting, the artist, andhis world dre context ofthe work-our ap-

preci,anon ot The Night Ctfe grows. It is ven

much Like a relationship with another petson-

The more we leam about someone else, the

bener we understand and appreciate that p€r-

son. Our appreciation of'|:be Night Caft hke-

s4se $oil's as 1 e leam morc about van Gogh's

In my pictuJe of rhe "Night Cafd' I have triedto dpr€ss the idea thar the cafe s a place vhere

one cu ruin onerelf,go nad of commft ecrim..So I have ried to express, s t were, the po{r6of darkness in a low ptrblic hoNe, by $ftIruis xv gren ud malachite,coDtralting with



THB IX,OCESS OF AJ'IRICIATTON 15

]euow grcn rd hrr.h bluegreen'.'d

Jld \ n r lmo\phcre lik r de \ furnJce. ipatesul6r.3

Loc,rting che arrirr and work in a t.userscrial and historical conten, an historian\\'crner Haftrnann ncrer\e\ our inrell(crualrftl emotional intimacy wirh van cogh andThe Night Cafe. HaftmaIJi wtites.

Ir Februs. 188o.Vincenrve Ctugn se rohisbmrh<rTho's shoD a P&b ndrateBhot.crur,,$k{rd, rcd ieided,hehly *rune. h-erwk e\ervonebur hnself f.r tserus. c,\<nro dreims of miveBal brorh€rhod and love hemer with indifferenceeknvh€re.

l\h btuughr him rc pa,nhng n rhe 66rph.r q.tr hi\ o\erfio$ ng o\e of rhing\ nd hisIellow men. He hid been s usuccessfin sales-

ftan in n n galten,dd thena iy preachernrh. Bclgian oJ nnring (gl.n. H( hrd Js,ysbee,'dd$n ro ncn. He \$ , qrrarCh|\ridrlthough r rdigiotrs diletrarre, htw.s onc ofrhe"poor iD sDjrjr" nentioncd in ihe cosDets.T)rrowing h'inself rvholehe.nedh into his nis-rion, he hid tirtd with the rvrerchedmincrs ofihe Bornraged one of thetu. For rhar reason.dre refig;olJ authoriries had forbidden him ropreach. ut a uanofhis srmrphad o.to sone-thing ro expres his dc. ,{nd sovu Cogh took

Bv 1886 his joumev int() an had broughr

hrm ro Piris ind pur lim in contacr, hroughThco, with the nost advanced irtists and rriisric approiches ofthe dav. There he tuok onrhe free, brighr palette of th€ impressblisrs,rndn duals such as }k,neq pdnter of O, /rrClifr, DiWe \l .I) . Br.trhis naNre forced hinrro go de€per than rhe impressionisrs.H;ssrruggle xas to get be\bnd the surface rp-pearance fthings b a second, rdstic redit|rhxt exrendcddeep nto dre soul. A dight disIolt;on of visual appearance, re discovcrcd,co'nd rcveal hurrun depths ind bring fonh

spiritual realities. Throgh d]e €xpressn€ uscofcolor and l;ne. he lqrned to convev x broadrarge ofspiritual stares. In'fbe Nitbt C&ft,torerlnple, he wrs ablc ro eripressrrthe

reriblchuman passions" that prcviouslv \r'ere represented onlv bv flcial expression :nd bodilvgcsture. "ln prinring rhe cafe :n Arles arnight," Hiftmanr writes, "Vincent .rgiin en-hanced and rnotlified drc cotoun, 'in ordcr toshos thn this is a placevhere a man can osehis mind and conrmit crim€s . . . m atmosphere ofa glo\,i'ing inferno. pale suftering, the

drrk powers rhar rule orer sleep.'ColoLt and

line becameor vanGogh r br;dgero rhe reilnrNhck obiects lk srgns. onrcringnessagcsrrom nan\nmer$( tr jd. '

Mu.h rnorecould be earnedabourVincentrzl] GoghafiThe Night Cal. Psrcbologists,sociologists,nd othersmight :dd tbeir persPectives.he ippreciative xpericnce anal\rils be enlrrged.But the poirr is rhisrWtenhancepprecialior f worksolart bv using

the formal and contexnriJmodesof seeing na compiementarymanner. The resulting cx-pcriences richer and more complex. f thctio are frifcialh' kcpt aprrt, as rhev s(,ne-trmesarei hcn \\'q the vie\'ers. are dle lose$.In the chaprcrs hat fouorv, sr placc a con-srtent emphasison th€ formal xnd rhc con-t€rtrml, the \.isu form and rhe $ltural mcin-ingofworksofarr. W'ebeghour ournev (irhthose \'orlds ofarr" x,ith lr'hich we ffe mostfamiliar: Chapter 2 introdrces fashion andd-bum corcr design,x'hose visRl forms m.t

culturJ neanings re verr dose o all ofus.

AocE. s' f- rb.on Dnh

Murum YiNmrw Gogh.

cap 1 berson

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