Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag

Something Susan Sontag mentioned in her essay that grabbed me is that "Interpretation takes the sensory experience of the work of art for granted, and proceeds from there." I found this statement very interesting because I feel that interpretation completely takes away what you're feeling in that moment. And what you feel affects what you see, hear, and think.

By interpreting art you're trying to claim what someone else was trying to convey. So you're not actually seeing the work of art, but instead you're masked by the illusion that you think you've revealed what the artist was trying to convey. By doing this you're not thinking for yourself. I feel that by making your own interpretation and/or opinion about a piece of art you're thinking as a critic, and not as yourself. And who gave you the authority to critique this piece of art. Who's to say that you even know what you're talking about.

I feel that in order to view art the correct way you need to think for yourself. The only way to think for yourself is to simply let go of your interpretations, and just sense the art in front of you. What you feel in that moment the first time you lay your eyes on a piece of art work will be different than any other individuals experience. Because of this there can be infinitely many interpretations about a single piece of art. But all that should matter is what you feel the first time you experience the artwork.

I believe that interpreting art prohibits people from thinking for themselves, and instead lures them into thinking like everyone else. I will end this post on another quote from Susan Sontag. "What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more."