It’s not bad art if you don’t like it.

You’re not supposed to like, or even love, some artwork. No, I mean that. And I don’t mean it in the “some artists don’t give a fuck if you like or hate their work” or even in the “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” kind of ways.

Some artists intentionally create work that you are not meant to find beautiful or visually gorgeous or serene or empowering, or other positive guru type feelings. (No, I’m not talking about the ones that do it for that shtick of shock value attention seeking this time, though intentionally difficult to view art often gets lumped in with that approach of art creation/communication.)

I am trying to explain that, as surprising as it sounds, some work really is meant to be ugly. Some work is meant to inspire feelings of disgust, revulsion, boredom, disdain, confusion. Some is meant to make you angry, or uncomfortable, or anxious. Depressed, hopeless, frustrated. Any of them, in any combination.

And it’s not bad art if it does. Challenging feelings explored in art does not make the art bad, if that’s the intention, if that’s it’s purpose, if it’s meant to do that. Yes I know, in a culture where we’re told to go make the world more beautiful, where we’re told to always strive to be beautiful, it almost seems like cultural blasphemy for someone to spend their time to make something to remind you of challenging experiences and emotions. Why would they do that? What kind of horrible, sadistic jerk must they be?

They likely didn’t do it out of spite or hate or cruelty or sadism, any more than our posting on social media or talking to family and friends about a rough experience or hard day is meant to be cruel to our friends and family. It’s communication, it’s sharing. Will some friends take it personally? Oh, sure.

However, our own inability to sit in non-judgement of challenging emotions is not a reason to not share them, to not seek out solace and comfort in the sharing of our common human experience.

And just like in personal relationships, our own discomfort at witnessing and feeling empathy for others as they go share their experience of difficult experiences is often blamed on the person, and the art, that brings these experiences back up for us.

We see a piece that clashes and disturbs, and we say the artist is a hack or idiot because they did not give us the emotional experience we expected when we viewed art. We say our friend is such a downer, they need to stop being so negative, to cheer up.

Newsflash: Art, and relationships, are not about the ideal experience you wanted. When you choose to walk up to a piece, just like when you start a relationship with others, it’s about the experience you ARE having with the art, and the person, not about what you wanted. (Disclaimer: Not relevant in abusive situations.)

Art can, at it’s best, drag you, possibly kicking and screaming, possibly gently, through the whole range of human emotion without ever having to repeat an actual experience that would trigger those emotions.

(It CAN, but that doesn’t mean it will. Seriously, guys, if I had to list every possible disclaimer here, this post would be longer than the Microsoft and Apple terms of service combined. Run with me here.)

Art is not always meant to inspire beautiful, pleasant feelings. Sometimes it’s purpose is to reach out and remind you that, ugh, yes, there are some damn challenging emotions and experiences out there. Being human isn’t easy. But you’re not alone. The other person always standing with you when you look at art – the one who created that piece of art? – they know those feelings too. You’re not alone.

So the next time you find a piece of art that drags up some difficult feels – don’t brush the piece off and call it Bad Art. If it’s whole purpose in being created was to inspire those feelings in you, then it is, in fact, Good Art.

Some pieces you are not meant to like. Some pieces you may not be prepared to face. But your unwillingness or dislike of the actual experience of the art does not make it bad art.

It really is all about intention. (When in doubt, ask.)

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Cognitive Dissonance, the 7th in You Are Here, is one of these pieces. It’s this godawful mix of tangerine and bright lime green, with no pleasant, smooth, comfortable transition between them. They butt up against each other, giving no ground, each their own fair share of visually overwhelming and clashing with each other as much as any two colors other than red and yellow could.

But that’s what experiencing cognitive dissonance, the emotion,  FEELS like. That’s what it feels like when you are presented with facts and information that calls into question your worldview and treasured beliefs. It’s intensely uncomfortable, it’s clashing and no middle ground, and it’s enough to make most people run away from this new information and these feelings as fast as they can. It triggers no shortage of name calling and lack-of-compassion in our own interactions, simply because so many of us don’t yet know how to sit with it, and we, as a species, we really suck at change.

You’re not meant to fall in blissful love with Cognitive Dissonance. It’s not meant to be something beautiful in your day. It’s meant to speak to you of difficult things, to remind you of an uncomfortable experience that you either grew from or ran away from, to speak to you of your own humanity, and hopefully, of the humanity of others. It is meant to reach out to you and let you know that you’re not alone in this intensely uncomfortable experience – no one is.