Questions Unanswered

A quest for that which cannot be answered. Those are the words that come to mind as I delved into the depths of the pieces of art at the “Masters of Fine Arts Thesis” exhibit. The work, at first glance, seemed unimpressive and to steal the words of a classmate, was lacking in aesthetic quality what it supposedly made up for in meaning. But what was the meaning? If the exhibit had an overall lack of beauty about it, then the meaning must be obvious, right? That was the question I posed to myself as I surveyed the pieces in the exhibit. One of the artists, Dustin Price, was particularly interesting to me and his work is the subject of my further review because I believe it best captures the overall theme of the entire exhibit.
The work of Price was a series of pieces, two with the same title while the others were titled differently. However, each piece of work was related to another by either the material used or the subject, with the exception of a life-size untitled tree. The pieces displayed incredible placement of both the works hanging on the wall in the series and the materials within the piece itself. The arrangement drew the focus to one area of the piece, but also encouraged the viewer to look at other aspects as the search for a clear meaning commences. I found myself searching for a clear meaning behind his pieces, and for awhile, I thought that I might stumble upon it as I reviewed all that was displayed. However, as time wore on, it appeared that the meaning was not going to come so easily - - my sentiment quickly turned to frustration as I struggled to grasp why an artist would exhibit work that had no true meaning. As I turned to alternative sources to search for the meaning, I stumbled upon an excerpt from the artist’s statement that provided a bit of clarity. He stated that he “understands that my process repeatedly gives way to questions that cannot be answered, but I believe attempting to understand these questions if often just as significant as answering them” (Dustin Price, 2009). Apparently, there was a reason behind the lack of meaning.
For as long as we’ve been taught, questions are followed by answers, whether implied or actually supplied. This social norm of question and answer is the way we were taught to gather information about the world and how it works. However, at points throughout life, we encounter questions that cannot be answered and it is these types of questions that invoke self-discovery. These are the questions that help us discover how we fit into the world - - they are necessary to existence, but can the same be said of their place in the artworld? After spending time looking for the meaning of a piece of work and learning that the intended meaning was the search for the meaning, I do not believe these self-discovery questions are appropriate in art. Forgoing aesthetic quality for a deeper meaning detracts from the work itself. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to decipher the message and not enough time appreciating the spatial arrangement within the piece and the unique materials used to create the piece. Art should be about appreciation of technique and creativity - - not an exercise in dealing with frustration, especially when the meaning is clouded. In pieces of art, all questions should be answered.