Response to "Mood."

Response #5

In Shawna Towers' post, she talks about the intentions of the artist to portray a certain emotion in their works. Some people, like Tolstoy, would believe that a piece of work would not be considered art if the observer received an emotion unintended by the artist. However, the observer's feelings at the time of looking at a piece of work usually affects how they interpret it. Shawna asks, "Do you agree with the idea that mood and emotion effects one's perception of art?"

I agree to some extent. Human beings are somewhat open-minded. However, what we feel at the present time contributes to how we view a piece of work. For example, if I listen to an upbeat song and I am in a depressed mood, it may uplift my mood a little but because I am so depressed, those feelings affect how I listen to the piece. Of course, if I listen to a heavy metal song with screaming, I doubt I would find this to be a happy piece. Though, if my mood is already quite high, it may not affect me too much. Some pieces of art are hard to depict the emotion being portrayed. Even though the viewer receives clues through colors and brushstrokes what the artist was feeling, our present mood overshadows the purpose of the artist. But not always. It all depends on how strong our mood is. I do agree that a person can view a piece of work one day and see and feel something completely different another day. However, the artists' true intentions (as long as they are a successful artist) always get across in the end.

My question to you is: When you are in a sad/depressed mood, do you tend to look at art that also expresses the same mood or do you find more uplifting art appealing? Basically, do you view art that expresses the same mood you are feeling or do you look at art that doesn't correspond to your mood at the time?