Thanks for the insight! I think this is a key point for me that's come up in the thread. I only have a passing interest in art; so that's a very likely reason as to why I don't get it. Perhaps if I took art history classes, I would build more of an appreciation for it.And in terms of some modernist art, "aesthetically pleasing" is not the point and it requires a learned understanding of its purpose, historical place, context, etc in order to "get it."
Maybe? I've done a little art history, but I already have too many interests and not enough time. There seems to be such an insurmountable number of paintings (and art in general) that I already DO enjoy, that willfully adding to that number seems crazy :) Every time I learn a little about another form of visual art (historical, cultural, etc), my trips to museums become that much more unwieldy! Seriously, I could probably live in some of them and not tire of wandering through the halls (not to mention the back catalogs).