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Do I have taste?
Everyone has personal taste. Taste is the product of both training and
personality, and it constantly evolves. (Consider how dated the music,
food or clothes you preferred in high school seem to you today.) So
don't let new or challenging art intimidate you — just think
of it as an opportunity to explore and refine your tastes. You may find
that pieces that didn't initially appeal to you grow on you, and
deepen your appreciation of the art that you already know and like.
Tastes evolve
Each generation, society, and community has its own standards of taste,
and these change with time and circumstance. Because contemporary
artists often introduce entirely new ways of seeing the world, they
usually challenge the established standards of taste.
Distinguishing taste from trend
When we relinquish decisions of taste to follow trends, we impede the
evolution of our own taste in favor of imitating those whom we consider
to have better taste. When we convince ourselves our taste is inferior
to others', the whole issue of taste becomes a source of
anxiety.
Taste testing
Trust yourself. When evaluating a work of art, ask yourself if it has
an effect on you. Does it change you? Can you take something new
from it with each encounter?
Refining your tastes
Our tastes reflect who we are, and evolve with our experience over
time. The more information you absorb, the more informed and refined
your tastes become. At any given moment, your taste is a reflection of
your personality, and to impose someone else's taste onto yours is
like borrowing someone else's personality. No one's taste is
better for you than yours.
Putting your taste to the test
The next group of exercises asks you to make a series of choices, each
more specific than the last. Don't worry about whether you know
enough to make "intelligent" choices — just make them. In
the process of choosing, you will already be learning.
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| Sharon Shapiro |
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David Shevlino |
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Michael Pyrdsa |
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John DiPaolo |
Next: Collecting Strategies — How do I build a collection?
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