The Meaning Of Art In Dorothy Allison's 'This Is Our World'

The Meaning of Art

In Dorothy Allison’s, This is Our World, she creates many arguments about art, artists, and the way art is viewed. There are many times throughout the essay where she claims the audience can interpret art differently. However, this is not always the case. The interpretation of art is not always up to the audience. The audience can view art differently, but it is not the choice of the audience, it 's the choice of the artist to allow them to perceive it differently. Allison states, “If we were more the same, would we not see the same thing when we look at a painting? But what is it we see when we look at a work of art? What is it we fear will be revealed? The artist waits for us to say.” (Allison, 49). I disagree with …show more content…
Part of the process for creating art is to think about your audience. If they are creating work for a young audience, they are going to have a more cartoonish and imaginative style. For a middle aged audience perhaps they will create work showing reality in a serious style. The artist would focus more on the past for a very old audience. Allison as a child is very fascinated by the painting of Jesus at her church, but her mother does not have the same connection as Allison. She describes the painting as, “He was all rouged and pale and pouty as Elvis Presley.” (Allison, 42). Her description of the painting is a more immature analysis of him. The artist of the painting must have intentionally made Jesus look younger and more kid-friendly because of its location. This was the painting that was hanging over the baptismal font where mostly young children are to be baptised. The placement of the image would encourage children more than adults to pursue their faith. Her mother did not see the appeal in the painting because for her it was immature. If the artist directed the focus towards an older audience he would have shown more of the suffering Christ to appeal to the older audience