The meaning of an artwork constantly evolves based on the era and the viewer’s interpretation. This blog post explores how the interaction between the work and the viewer creates new meanings.
We often say we enjoy or appreciate an artwork instead of simply viewing it. Enjoying or appreciating an artwork implies deriving pleasure from it or judging its value. This notion implies that an artwork is an entity waiting to be received by the viewer, the subject of appreciation, and that it is a fixed object to be measured for its worth. However, an artwork is not an entity whose value is fixed or one that merely waits for the viewer’s reception.
An artwork is created within the relationship between the creator, the time of creation, and the cultural environment. These elements related to the creation of an artwork include social norms, artistic traditions, and the artist’s individuality. Yet, such elements cannot determine the meaning of an artwork. These elements are transformed as they are organized into text by the creator, existing merely as a background reference system.
The meaning of an artwork is interpreted by the viewer who encounters it at a specific moment in history. However, interpreting meaning necessarily requires a certain frame of reference. Without such a frame, interpretation struggles to transcend the viewer’s subjective understanding. The reference system serves precisely as this frame of reference for interpretation. The referential system of the historical moment when the viewer encounters the artwork creates a new relationship distinct from the past. Based on this new relationship, the viewer produces new meaning from the artwork.
Therefore, as long as an artwork continues to be transmitted, it constantly changes through new referential systems and is endowed with new meanings. Fundamentally, the meaning of an artwork is infinite. This is akin to the saying, “Shakespeare did not say everything.” Here, “did not say everything” does not mean meaning originates from the artwork itself. The meaning of the work derives from the infinite nature of the reference systems existing outside the artwork. The text ceaselessly seeks new viewers, acquires new reference systems from them, and continuously forms new relationships to produce new meanings.
The process of appreciation is a dialogue between subjects. In this process, the artwork and the appreciator adopt an open attitude, asking and answering questions, correcting each other’s perspectives, much like two individuals with different viewpoints and personalities. They do not pull the other into their own field of vision but advance toward truth through dialogue. The appreciator does not obtain truth existing within the artwork; rather, through appreciating in a dialogical manner, they communicate with the artwork to create new truth. Rather than using the artwork as an illustration of their pre-existing understanding, they transcend, expand, and transform that understanding through the external artwork, thereby gaining a new perspective. In doing so, the artwork itself transcends its own meaning through the different appreciator.
Appreciation is a process of aesthetic experience where both the viewer and the artwork transcend each other in a two-way direction. The artwork is open to the viewer, and the viewer is open to the artwork. This process of openness and communication negates any fixed meaning of the artwork, leaving open the possibility for new meanings to be born through the viewer’s interpretation. This demonstrates that the artwork possesses the potential to be continuously recreated beyond fixed meanings or values, and to be endlessly rediscovered through diverse interpretations.
This interaction between artwork and viewer transcends mere appreciation, revealing how artworks can be newly understood and reinterpreted within social and cultural contexts. Artworks continually generate fresh meanings within their era’s cultural and historical frameworks, while viewers expand their own understanding and perspectives through this process. This dynamic ensures the enduring vitality of artworks and enables viewers to gain new insights and realizations through them.
In conclusion, the meaning of an artwork is not fixed; it can infinitely transform based on the viewer’s interpretation and understanding. Viewers create new meanings through dialogue with the artwork, and the artwork is continuously recreated through this communication with the viewer. This reveals the true value of the artwork and confirms its infinite potential.
