"Way of Seeing"

"The Whole Ball of Wax" by Jerry Saltz

Saltz analyzes the art world and those who judge it in his piece, "The Whole Ball of Wax." I had to read certain paragraphs multiple times to understand what he wanted the reader to take away from them. He addresses art itself and those who wrongly see art. Though I thought his explanation was overly complicated, I extracted new ideas about art. Artwork itself takes time; it takes time to steep over the boiling water that is the viewer. It is not something that you can immediately understand, it takes time and focus to see the art. But Saltz asserts that you should never understand art, but should interact with a piece. A painting, for example, should constantly take on a new meaning to the viewer and make them feel. An artwork can create without being alive. It can create or evoke a new feeling whenever someone looks at the work.                    

The neo-Cartesians Saltz criticizes do not properly interact with art. They organize without any need to. Art is not meant to be compartmentalized into boxes with labels. These enemies of art believe that the end goal of a work is to understand it, rather than just experience it. Those driven by structure and order want to bring the same structure and order to the art world, yet doing this strips art of its intended purpose; to transform. Art can transform the viewer, can transform feelings, and can itself transform.                                                                           

But while reading “The Whole Ball of Wax,” I thought Saltz himself was imposing critical judgement on this group of people he calls neo-Cartesians. Though the neo-Cartesians themselves judge art improperly, he judges these people about their view on their world. Though I agree with Saltz that art should not be judged so concretely, but I also think the art world would take on the “to each his own” attitude. If others want to judge art a certain way or with a certain viewpoint, so be it. Though the people Saltz criticizes may not see art the way it is intended to be seen, any viewer should have the freedom to experience art the way that they want to.