This reading about art theory made me think about something, just like a good book should. The big thing I gathered overall is that everyone is an art theorist because everyone has an opinion on art. Within that, opinion and belief are synonymous and to an extent are synonymous with theory or at least the founding of it. Allow me to elaborate my thinking.

There’s no way, I believe, to have a theory without it being rooted in opinion. Kant’s theory is that all our experiences are on some level uniquely human and we share a certain structure throughout humanity. He also explores the need for personal judgements in taste regarding aesthetics and art. This is an opinion he had about viewing art and the human experience. To contrast this with something different but similar in my opinion, is conspiracy theorist. Whether this be people believing the CIA or Castro assassinated JFK or people talking about the flat earth or lizard people, these theories are based on assessment and opinion by people that these things are real or worth considering by people. No body would passively create these theories in a subjective manner, these come from a belief and opinion that these things, no matter how ridiculous, have merit and truth to them. Feminist theory, as another example, didn’t simply just pop out of nowhere. It came from the belief and opinion that women are equal to men. That’s not something you think subjectively, that’s something you believe.

So what role does theory and belief have as opinions then? I think they stem from humans inherit need to understand and categorize. Theory operates as a method of explaining our opinions and a potential to put them in practice. Therefore theory operates as a manifesto for our ideas and beliefs that we have on things, and humans have a lot of these.

So is art theory important? At the core of the grand scheme of life, not really. You are your own theorist on the things you experience.Some German guy in the 1900’s just happened to be louder about it and get published. That doesn’t mean it’s completely useless. We grow as people when we debate with others and share our opinions or theories. As Dewey said, “Barriers are dissolved” when cultures meet and connect, and opinions can have the same effect. Art theory works as a tool or as I think of it as a lens. It’s another thing to take into account when viewing art, but it shouldn’t be the most prevalent thing in mind when viewing art. By doing so, you loose your own identity when viewing art.

All in all, this is just another theory. This is my opinion on having an opinion on art which often stems from a belief or idea which is just another form of opinion. So take it with grains of salt and season up your own beliefs.