I don’t understand contemporary art – this sentence can often be heard when a conversation about the works of 20th and 21st-century artists begin. Why can people appreciate Caravaggio and Rembrandt and reject artists of current times?

Art has always been two steps ahead of its time. It is essential to remember that Caravaggio was a completely misunderstood painter when he was creating, and Rembrandt was a long-forgotten painter. It takes time for some themes and forms of expression used in art to become more communicative for its recipients.

Works of contemporary artists are often difficult to understand. Until the early twentieth century, it seems that everything was much simpler to appreciate. The picture expresses what it portrays, such as a historical scene, portrait, still life, or landscape. The everyday cultural experience of a man of that time provided an appropriate key for the analysis and interpretation of art. It felt natural. But is it? Would it be so easy to read art if we came from a different cultural background? Would it be easy to decode the work then? Probably not. To properly understand art, we must have some knowledge. This knowledge can be acquired through everyday participation in culture or expanded by identifying the contexts influencing its formation.

Possibly, the main reason why people are reluctant to deal with art in adulthood is the lack of adequate education. While having a look at art textbooks for primary schools, complete chaos is noticeable. They do not prepare the student to receive art at all. In addition, art lessons are treated as something unnecessary by many. Meanwhile, instead of tests on the classification of colours or types of perspective, more crucial in artistic education would be a meeting with art in person. It is important to see art live, to go to a museum, or a gallery. That requires some effort from teachers. Therefore, it is essential to take the youngest children to exhibitions and workshops conducted in art galleries. The problem is also the lack of adequate funding for both artistic education and the artists themselves.

Also, it is regrettable that interest in art is considered escapist. Art, on the contrary, helps us understand the world around us. It is impossible to comprehend reality without contemporary art. The artists were the first ones to take up the problematic topics of social exclusion, migration, or a climate catastrophe in a public debate.

Contemporary art remains a mystery because most people – including art critics and even artists themselves – are unable to move beyond the imprisonment of classical art. In understanding contemporary art, it is significant to notice that contemporary artworks are signposts to imaginary worlds that the artist has discovered or created, unlike classic art counterparts. The purpose of contemporary art is definitely not to be admired because of the technical skills or the beauty it manages to convey; its role is to appeal to the imagination.

Contemporary art, just like the old art, requires commitment from us. It all starts with simple questions posed by the work. Who made the work? When was it established? How was it done? What does it show? What was it created for? Starting from this, you can deepen your reflection by asking various other, more challenging questions. They can be raised from different methodological perspectives. The bolder we set them up, the more aesthetic satisfaction contemporary art will provide. Art is helpful in everyday life. Communing with the works of artists can inspire many things, such as rearranging our living space. Art is also an excellent intellectual exercise. Thanks to it, we can start to see new things in our daily life. Reading is an exercise for the brain, and watching art is an exercise of imagination, sensitizing oneself, learning to look at the world consciously. Art allows you to ask questions, question the obvious, and understand that anything can become a topic for discussion.