Anatoly Khodorkovsky

The process of understanding works of art

Because of the impact on the feelings and thoughts of a man painting occupies a special place in our lives. It allows you to easily move from the beauty of visual perception to sense images. Allows in detail, detail, consider the motion of the author's thoughts, to analyze the results of their visual embodiment of a work of art.
The beautiful painting reflects the artist's subjective world, enriching our minds, stirs our sense organs. In its dynamic development indicates a person on the unity of all that surrounds it.
Various artists, with varying degrees of his talent tend to cause a human sensory perception of the painting, forced to work consciousness. The movement of thought and feeling, backed by knowledge, will inevitably lead to conscious reflection and understanding of the work.
Ignorance does not make man.
Consciousness and thought the gift given to man to be able to better feel and through the senses perceive their surroundings. The feelings and understanding are directly dependent on the content and preferably a proportional relationship between them.
Paintings, turned to reality, to nature, to life in a society often shows sensory-conceptual interpretation of things and phenomena. The ability to correctly perceive the works of art allows a person to feel the beauty.
Artists of different eras and genres, using their talents to create works, tried to arouse the viewer with new thoughts and feelings.
Aesthetic activity of painting is that it is the most wonderful way can shape our consciousness in relation to the phenomena of nature and nature itself, to the objective world around us.
A striking example is the ancient Greek art. Love the Greeks to the subjects of life has allowed us to reconstruct the whole culture of the ancient state. And not only cause aesthetic at the expense of beauty and harmony of form objects, but also through their embellishment, to create its visual image. The details tell us about everyday life, interests and activities of people lost civilization.
Through these objects (especially dishes), through images, printed on objects, we can judge the way of life of past centuries. Evaluate the aesthetic tastes of these people. A modified form of articles, review and assess the evolutionary stages of human development. Analyze the stuffy sense of evolution. Painting allows to see things directly in the form of thought. Allows you to reconstruct the ideas enshrined in the picture. It should be removed from the plot of the appearance of things, from the nature of the image.
Ancient times, formed in our minds relating to the beauty of movement of the human body, their postures and gestures, but not only recorded the postures, but also explained their meaning.
Thus, the ancient art serves our aesthetic educator. This ancient times, preserved in our minds not only relate to the image of the human body, its plastic, but also the aesthetic attitude to apparel. They gave a beautiful appearance of a human torso. Skill of a true artist of the beauty of updating,
changed our perception of the world. Formed an idea of the complexity of the world around us, on the sophistication of its development.
In the next stage of the antiquity of human consciousness, the artists have put into their work based on the notion of moral, psychological, religious component. There were changes in means of expressing their creative ideas. The images of human spirituality appeared to facilitate interaction - the synthesis of psychological empathy: the author - to create works; itself, the internal state of the transferred image of the artist, and the feelings that arose from the viewer. The religious component plays an unimportant role. Endowed divine vision, the art reveals not only man, but his inner world. Human cognitive activity in the consciousness of the world improves its performance on the external beauty. His understanding of beauty artist connects with goodness, with spirituality and transmits it via the external images. The main principles of this period is associated with the fixation of the psychophysical perception of the work.
Here the artist's creative method is fully adequate to human nature beauty. In the transfer form of beauty is not separated from content. The human looks out such features, such expressions that are directly related to goodness, with spirituality. In the medieval mind looking plastic expressions are not revealing the pure form, because in the minds of the period dominated by the spiritual component.
Of great importance is the formation of aesthetic culture of various ancient peoples. Most people's ideas connected with the habitat of the gods and ideas about their lives. In art, this time a special place is the unity of natural and social advance.
Here, human beauty, largely unconsciously, by the fact that similar kind of phenomena. That is, the human form and most intensely expresses the positive content, which is composed of a generalized perception of the surrounding images. It recreates the natural component of human beauty. This suggests that the expression of human beauty is a set of medieval representations of the unconscious. Of course, one must bear in mind that the main center of creative expression, cognitive, and artistic thought during the Middle Ages mainly manifested in the arts of the East and the many paintings on the walls of temples in Western Europe. A special place and can be for the Russian mentality, most significant, belongs to the Church "God-painter.
The most interesting is that despite the abundance of images, in the sense of beauty can not talk about the aesthetic values of medieval art, it is still human content, the human senses prevail over the others. In the aesthetic culture of any phenomena become of values, because of its physical content and develop the perception of human ideas and excite unclaimed in ordinary life experiences. Systems of different views, opinions, inferences over time become elements of spiritual and material culture of various public entities. This led to the fact that many of the facts of mental breakthroughs becomes a symbol of culture of these peoples.
However, the formation of national cultures in the Middle Ages did not limit the concept of one nation. The moral and psychological state of man little effect on the development of art, as it was limited to the monotony of spiritual submission. As can be seen, medieval art, thinking - humanize art images and the characteristic expressive features of the world. Consciousness experience art as expressive symbols, radiating from a human content. From this point of view of great interest are the images that appear aesthetic activity to identify negative feelings (tragic). In his works, the artists demonstrate the power of aesthetic activity. In their moral content of the images surrounding the life, transformed in the minds and displayed in the works reflect the social and political life. This thinking persists today, getting some new features. This increases the status of novelty, fundamentally altering the content. In identifying the pictorial forms of expression significantly enhances the treatment of other types of art, especially architecture and sculpture. Continuing search for means of philosophical and psychological comprehension of creativity.
Substantially expanded set of subjects, thus, the artist begins to engage in moral, psychological, philosophical interpretations, which play an important role to achieve a modern understanding of the world and man.
It should be noted that quite a lot of facts confirming the above can be found in works of art of this period. Most are images of biblical scenes, which have reached us in the form of mosaics and frescoes of interior decoration of Christian churches. This should draw attention to the characteristic enlarged plan created by his portrayal of incorporating them into the tragic world of alienation of medieval Europe. Of suffering characters in paintings of this period of history gradually migrated into the motives of future periods.
Aesthetic activity of contemporary visual arts can identify another problem of aesthetic perception, associated with the peculiarities of interpretation of it.
At the beginning of our discussion, we emphasized the fact that painting or any other element of art, causing some kind of moral, religious, philosophical and political movement of thought, thus explains its contents, meaning and value, creates an aesthetic taste.
However, there is a danger interpreted this statement as if the aesthetic perception is possible when the consciousness of beauty, of ugliness, from the tragic and the comic gets a well-informed meaning.
The reality of aesthetic practice completely ignores it. However, not only the reality of aesthetic practices.
 There are numerous theories in which proved "formalism" aesthetic object, that is, it is determined by the minimal aesthetics of conceptual logic, and the properties of "pure" forms are estimated ground aesthetic object. For the argument that ideas are often treated to the experience of abstract art.
The manifestation of the aesthetic impact on the feelings a person can be represented as a sequential interaction of form, content and understanding. This is quite possibly the lack of sensory and aesthetic response.
Very often we catch ourselves on the fact that in real life it happens that the complex process of perception, looks more than just a saw and felt at once in accordance with the aesthetic priorities.
Researchers and experts of art, represented by art historians argue that such a sequence is misleading, because in the material world can be neither pure form or pure content.
This philosophical statement is not always taken into account in the theory of art.
The transience of content, complexity of the study and unexplained sensations occurred, may create the illusion that it (the content) does not exist. Then it seems that the aesthetic reaction (experience) is pure expression.
Some researchers have convinced us that there is some regularity in which the understanding of the product is directly dependent on the expressiveness of the form: the more expressive form, the greater its content is conceptually not fix. Conversely, when the normal state form, its content is abstract and can easily be conceptual development, that is, mental awareness and verbal explanation. Inexpressive confusion, formlessness, overcrowding content makes it difficult to understand the work.
Often the aesthetic object is perceived as "pure form". It should be defined with this concept in more detail, to clarify and answer: "Why increase the expressiveness accompanied by an increase of misunderstanding the content?".
To answer this question we must understand the nature of expressiveness.
In the form most expressive subject is the content.
In the most expressive form (ideal), special interest all the same content.
First, we define a "maximally expressive" form.
No form - impossible for us to talk about it, but in his mind, the search for ideal forms create different images. At the subconscious level, the concentration of thought convinces us that the most perfect form, we must search among the simplest of geometric shapes. Any other figure except for a simple flat shape, creates the conditions for reasoning.
Creates conditions to describe the difference between simple and more complex form.
The smallest figure perceived by the human eye, a point of uncertain form.
But the point does not meet the legal requirements imposed on the picturesque scene.
No use of artistic methods and not very beautiful process.
On what would the plane have been plotted point, it can not be treated as paintings.

Next is the simplest figure - two points more complex form.
There is an opportunity to analyze the parameters of the relationship and interaction of these points. At each point of understanding of the form depends on the nuances of conceptual grasped the content. Analyzing the form of points, a variety of options makes the process of learning form infinite.
 Such an understanding can be attributed to the beginning of the process of making.
 Reflecting on two points, we can verbally repeat everything that we were able to express or express at one point and add the arguments relating to the two figures, ie the understanding of the content is complicated, and so on Composition of the two points does not meet the requirements of harmonious human consumption, according to the "laws of beauty". Under this law, the parameters of these points must be quite large. In these settings, they are no longer points, but they are uniformly painted planes independent of each other. This size is homogeneous in color plane, in connection with the imperfection of human vision, becomes the volume. According to the law of painting - on the border of contrasting colors, bright colors seem brighter its fundamental tone, and dark - darker. With the advent of more complex content. With the advent of complex content, there are differences of opinion. There is a possibility of additional arguments. The more complex form and content, the more opinions. If this process to add an attitudinal change over time, individuality, creativity techniques, evolving the expressiveness of the plot, feelings, etc., the possibility of various options for the transfer of prevailing in the minds of the images are inexhaustible.
Subconsciously, we imagine that a simple product, a graphic form, relating to the category of simple plane figures of homogeneous color. The ideal figure is the simplest figure in ideal proportions in relation to the visual perception of man.
That is, in the form of content besides no choice. That's when the consciousness it seems to be the form of anything explicit, clear, does not receive, and therefore does not receive anything at all.
This is the first cause of the illusion that a purely expressive expressive form, there is an aesthetic object. Another reason lies in the personality structure in the sensory component of the man. As we already know, aesthetic object and its variety - art education is emotionally expressive representation at the level of self-hypnosis. And the idea is caused by both the content and form.
 In content, aesthetic object, always connected with the vital needs, the problems of man. Moreover, the vital importance here may or material, or spiritual, or both material and spiritual nature. Hence the foundation of aesthetic interest in the subject matter. Such interest is a condition of emotional reaction. It should be noted that cognitive interest is not a utilitarian nature, so there is no special interest in aesthetic ways. And the beauty of the sublime and the ugly with the lowlands, are emotional about modifying the aesthetic experience. The process of making sense of the aesthetic sense associated with the organizing principle of human activity. Unsystematic and disorganized own senses destroys a person's behavior. Effect on the senses, forms a pattern of behavior.
Owning such concepts can be concluded that the main purpose of abstract art, to modify the traditional understanding of art, paintings by manipulating with the emotional and aesthetic senses. Depending on the purpose, the negative and positive emotions form the aesthetic experience. Negative emotions will intensify the fight against negative phenomena of natural and social phenomena. Both positive and negative perception of aesthetic form determines the degree of our cognitive needs. In the art of negative feelings psychophysical balance the needs of the harmonious development of the senses. The degree of novelty, surprise, in this case violates the traditionally well-established perceptions. What a great surprise perception of the everyday, the more emotional response to perception. Besides the novelty of influences on perception, the nature of the content, psychology and training level of the individual. Therefore, understanding of the aesthetic content is intuitive. Aesthetic perceptions ----- develops sequentially, from form to content and as a result of activated emotional reaction.
The multiplicity of expressive forms, conceptual coverage complicates modeling aesthetic relations. Knowledge generates emotions. The process of understanding the content of the aesthetic object - a process in which information changes occur, some reject the notion of others, ignorance becomes knowledge, etc. Correction Representation, changes of emotional responses.
Aesthetic object, often cause feelings of forming a stream of different and contradictory points. In the spiritual world of human conceptual-emotional process has another important consequence. In the minds of human beauty and ugliness, the sublime, low-lying land - causes certain feelings. Associative representations and caused feelings associated with the form object will remain in memory. Over time, some feelings have arisen during the initial perception is lost. Repeated perception arises shortened version of the primary sensations. In the mind are not saved feelings arising from the perception of novelty, not all of the feelings associated with the content, with aesthetic experiences, accelerated the process of aesthetic feelings, etc. The rate of emotional reaction and provides a depth of experience. Form without mediating intervals immediately raises emotions. However, one can assume that the content is absolutely absent. It is present in the form of emotional impressions. Here's an example: - used the word "picture". You can be sure that everyone who had the ear to perceive the word, there were numerous visual and subliminal images. Hence, conceptually meaningful images evoke emotion in the absence of real visual content. Since different people have in the absence of content, there are different images, as well as an emotional reaction is manifested quite differently.
The role of sensory perception of art is that it helps to understand implying unconscious content of the aesthetic object.
The artist is like a mediator in self-knowledge of people. In his words, actions and facial expressions we learn about the nature of emotional perception. Creative additions to common emotions, form the taste, and makes us see it as some sort of logic and special expressiveness.
From this perspective, "Black Square" by Malevich is of great interest.
This work is a kind of benchmark for the perception and "reading" variability of painting. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, in one case, the proposed understanding of art historians partly consistent with the tradition, in another case, is the negation of tradition.
In the first case, a particularly expressive work of art proposed by the artist - a fact that secures the traditional notion of painting. On the other hand, an unexpected manner provided by tradition can not explain, understand the content and the external simplicity and lack of sufficient expertise, except misunderstanding no more calls. From the standpoint of content is clearly implied a work of art we contemplate and fix in the memory image of the aesthetic object is one that the artist invited to logical understanding. And the object of understanding it - the simplest geometric shape - square.
 In the process of self-expression plays an important role the environment in which formed the creative consciousness. It should be noted that in the XX century has a lot of research on aesthetic perception of works of art. In this connection it is necessary to take into account that in the minds of a cognitive already developed a variety of ideas about aesthetic priorities. This understanding is partly due, charisma, the quality of education, interests, which the artist fills his thoughts, realizing the creative ideas.
Improvement in the realistic direction forever linked to national traditions, with the ethnic environment in which the accumulated aesthetic presentation. To write a genuine work had often refer to the topic, which advocated the realization of the aesthetic development of the realities of national peace. Despite this artist can create something fundamentally new in any developed the theme, but the realist painters remained the danger of creating stereotypes works. From the creative heritage, we
Indeed, seeing the many works that does not broaden the aesthetic experience of perception.
Now you can go back to the creative activity of artists of the late XIX - early XX centuries.
In his works, the artists to recreate an environment in which events occur that capture the overall emotional mood of time. This art mainly develops in the spirit of traditional realist painting. This tradition is opposed to abstract art. French Impressionist, avant-garde Russian artists, freed from stereotypes, create new works of neorealist style and avant-garde.
 During the Soviet period, the adherents of the academic school were able to seize new opportunities and innovative artistic movements to return the understanding of trends of development of art in the framework of stereotypical, realistic perception.
As intrinsic value to society imposed - Socialist Realism. Using special tools enhance expressiveness, artists, realists, still traditionally manipulate human feelings. The apparent firmness of a longstanding tradition, cyclically recurring processes of development of art, the reality of life, inspire people need to fit into this reality. Many artists, repeating a stereotyped thinking, the futility of imposing new ways of creative expression, depriving the art of the future.
In art, there is a special problem, which includes the possibility of visual perception and the track work.
We know that perceptions can be from different points of view:
- From the perspective of first person - the viewer, in this case, the narrator is well aware of the self, the thoughts, feelings and motives of others he often only guess;
- From the perspective of an onlooker - the artist, when he had to deal with limited space and time supervisory position. Since it has to monitor the external manifestations of human relations, conflict. He never knew anything inside and he has all the time to decipher the behavioral signs. From this viewpoint, the artist has to explicate the content of pictorial means of expression and inexpressive forms of human spirituality, human relations, etc. So the artist has to earn the semantics and the elements shaping, so that, in the end, there was a product with the highest integrity of the expressive art image - the image of beauty;
- From a position of unknown fiction omnipresent observer - visionary science fiction. This perception, being omnipresent, knows no spatial limitations. It knows simultaneous events in far-standing spatial dimensions. The dreamer can know what he thinks the character is displayed at the moment, What feelings, what a conspiracy plotting.
He sees the aesthetics of human behavior on both sides - from the form and the part of the content. Therefore, if science fiction everything is still and artist, he has a clear advantage in detection of expression of creative idea.
Если к этому прибавить творческий талант и мастерство художника, диапазон восприятия сторон, эстетическая активность произведения проявляется во всей своей эффективности.
Все перечисленные позиции наблюдения дают разные возможности в восприятия действительности через эстетические ощущения.
Мы исследовали творческую активность художников живописцев в плане выявления эстетических свойств действительности и социальной реальности. Теперь остановимся на эстетическом освоении разных художественных способов отражения и осмысления действительности. Эта проблема находится в плоскости изобразительных и выразительных средств. Тут следует добавить, что эстетическая активность в области изобразительного искусства не замыкается пределами живописного произведения.
Типы выразительной семантики, найденные в живописи могут перекочевать в область других видов искусства. Причем эстетическая активность в пределах живописи конца XIX - начала ХХ веков может начинаться в сфере иллюзорных представлений и входить в область не художественных образов не только по своим конечным результатам.

В XX веке художники в лице импрессионистов и авангардистов искали новые средства выразительности традиционной академической живописи.
      Язык новых живописных направлений обнаружил большие идейные и выразительные возможности с точки зрения нового взгляда на творческий процесс, новой идеологии и новых эстетических приоритетов.
Также можно отметить, что эстетическая активность в освоении возможностей, не перегруженной реалистическим содержанием авангардной живописи, положила начало новой изобразительной практике, с революционными взглядами на развитие искусства.
Возникала потребность остроумно, с пафосом сформулировать просветительские творческие идеи, чаяния. Эта потребность в новой живописи, становится условием внедрения заимствованной у импрессионистов выразительности. В пьесе «Победа над Солнцем» футуристические идеи достигли своей экспрессивности. Благодаря этим потребностям художники создали прекрасные театральные декорации. Такой стиль решения художественного образа пьесы предыдущая эпоха не знала.
Поиск выразительных средств живописи активно повлиял на понятийное восприятие произведения искусства как такового. Следы этих новых влияний нетрудно проследить по произведениям авангардистов.
В искусстве под влиянием авангардистов возникает новый тип живописи, в которой академическая выразительность равномерной ритмичности, заменяется ассиметричной неравномерностью композиций и усиленной эмоциональной выразительности цветовых взаимодействий.
Новый тип выразительности в живописи авангардистов достиг своей силы за счет деформации пространства, цвета и т. п. Освоив возможности классической, реалистической живописи, художники обратились к поискам самовыражения в области «чистой» живописи, в реализации своих творческих замыслов через средства графического изображения.
В 20-30-е годы в России стремление к новым поискам выразительности в искусстве достиг особых, обоснованных временем высот. Возникают и развиваются новые направления в поэзии, прозе, музыке, архитектуре, скульптуре, живописи и т.д. Традиционно используемая религиозная тема из области искусства насильно вытесняется «социалистическим реализмом».
 Темами произведений становятся реальные человеческие духовные проблемы строго дозируемые и подконтрольные официальному идеологическому диктату.
Художники устремляют свои усилия в область поиска живописной выразительности.
Получают свое развитие традиционные и прикладные виды искусства. Особое место в искусстве занимают карикатура и сатира.
Активно развивается самодеятельное и примитивное направление. Идеологический диктат требовал создание новых образов положительных героев. Живописные произведения выступали объектами политических и идеологических требований власти.
Все творческие представители были в основном объединены в подконтрольные власти творческие союзы, тем самым административно были подчинены их влиянию и интересам.
Лишь во второй половине XX-го века меняется представление молодых художников и начинается процесс возврата к общемировым ценностям в развитии искусства.
Произведения искусства приобретают живой интерес со стороны «потребителей».
Академическое, традиционное, канонизированное идеологическими требованиями искусство становится динамичным и подчиняется смыслу и требованиям нового времени.
Очень часто художники увлекаются свободой творческого выражения и в погоне за материальным обогащением растрачивают свой талант, выразительность становится безвкусицей.
В живописи 60-х годов, особо развиваются деревенские мотивы, конкурируя с ещё продолжающейся военной тематикой.
Это наблюдается и в произведениях художников старшего поколения,
В 70-е годы художники не очень утруждают себя философскими рассуждениями на темы предназначения искусства. Определившись с новым живописным приёмом сурового стиля, твёрдо основалась практика ублажения запросов конъюнктурной живописи. Используя выразительные особенности этого стиля, определяется направление развития всего официального искусства.

Сюжеты тиражируются из одних произведений в другие, из одних видов искусства в другие. Творческая выразительность выстраивается в схему, и отражают некоторые черты характера человеческих взаимоотношений в строгих рамках идеологического заказа. В экспозицию попадают только те произведения, которые чиновники от «культуры» и власти считают достойными. Чаще всего это банальные второсортные произведения и художники. Всё пространство СССР заполонили произведения с низким вкусом предназначенных для массового неподготовленного зрителя.
Близость искусства к народной жизни стала модной.
Настоящее искусство ограничивается холодными чердаками и сырыми подвалами, неофициальными показами и самиздатом. Мириться с таким будущим искусства многие творчески одаренные люди не могли.
 Те, кто не иммигрировал в конце ХХ века за рубеж, уединились в своих национальных округах и оттуда пытались заявить о себе, развивая в своём творчестве этнические, фольклорные мотивы периферийной жизни. Порожденные спросом и временем картины по характеру своей выразительности близки этническому духу, пластике этнического мышления.
По психологическому восприятию, эти мотивы узко национальных творческих соревнований, способствовали разобщению общества, что в конечном итоге привело к его распаду.
Окунувшись в океан мирового искусства, художники постсоветского пространства кинулись жадно поглощать, ранее недоступные, западные, восточные - мировые ценности. Будущие исследователи художественного наследия ХХ века, ещё столкнутся с проблемой рафинированного поиска тех ценностей, которые столетия формировали культуру российского мышления. В первую очередь это эстетические ценности сложных по восприятию произведений художников первой половины прошедшего столетия.
По прошествию первого десятилетия XXI – века, оглядываясь в прошлый век, становится очевидным преимущество интеллектуальных и эмоциональных сил зафиксированных в художественных произведениях двадцатого века. Они выступают парадигмами, с помощью которых люди данного социума осмысливают, оценивают свой опыт, решают собственные проблемы.
 Эти произведения существенно расширяют философские, этически осмысливающие возможности искусства.
Поколения художников нового времени обязаны воспользоваться философскими, эстетическими наработками прошлого и использовать эти достижения для поиска новых изобразительных выразительных средств. Они должны являться основой к открытию более совершенных представлений мировосприятия, расширяющих границы воздействия на общественное сознание.