Interpretation and Controversial Art 1/23/08

Liked the juxtaposition of the "modern" and "classic" at the end of the discussion. This speaks volumes about how crucial the viewer/interpreter is in art. Many times when controversy arises around an artist work it seems due to the " baggage " brought to the work by the viewers. Does an artist have any control over what viewer's are gonna see in their work? I would say no no one person can truely control another without consent to be controlled. Eric Fischl's work is intrigueing because he really seems to push some psychosexual buttons. He toys with the viewer challenging them almost to face these scenes in their own minds. One thing about some strong images once you have seen them they in your psyche and left to play.There almost seems a certain amount of trickery to art and psychology- the most sensitive parts of ourselves we keep hidden away, but these are often the parts that need attention, so artists and shrinks must figure out a way to access these parts and pull them intot he light, often a painful but eventually rewarding thing. I believe artists are very apt at drawing out the parts that we all try to keep hidden.