In order for any work of art—for example, a film, a novel, a poem, or a song—to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.

In order for any work of art—for example, a film, a novel, a poem, or a song—to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

To judge the merit of an art work, many aspects need to be considered: artistry, culture, commercial value, popularity, etc. Being understood by the public is only one aspect of the merit. It cannot be the only criterion for judging the value of works of art.

Popularity, being understandable to most people, is one of the most important value. The more people understand art, the more people appreciate it. No matter how good a work is, no one understand it, then no one appreciate it. Its ending can only be moldering in a warehouse. In addition, works that are intelligible and accepted by the public can often occupy a larger market and obtain commercial value. A wonderful movie can attract the audience to watch in the cinema, a classic novel can get high sales, and a touching music makes people willing to pay for listening. The profits created become the material representation of their value.

However, the fundamental purpose of the creation of art works is to spread a particular culture through art, so its value should be more reflected in its artistic and cultural characteristic. However, because each person’s acceptance of art and education are different, everyone’s understanding of the same work is also of difference.

The artistry of a work made demands on appreciators, that they are diverse, dense and not always to digest, so it may not be accepted by most people. Some surrealist works, such as Dali’s “Eternal Memory”, are a twisted world in the eyes of most people. However, those who have systematically studied artistic expression techniques can understand the pain and frustration behind the distortion. Just as not everyone can read the obscure works that won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but these works are worth studying as textbooks.

In addition, the cultural merit of art works puts forward higher requirements for the cultural background of the public, so only a few people can understand the specific connotation in art works. The creation of art is often deeply influenced by its era, which a good art work can fully show. From the perspective of historians, Picasso’s “Guernica” vividly shows the brutality of World War II, but most people only saw a monotonous hue and chaotic lines. Restricted by the limitation of knowledge, the cultural value of artistic works is often overlooked by most people. However, those online novels only with plenty of sensory stimuli, in general, having no profound cultural elements are often understandable and popular. This has to make us doubt whether there is firmly anchored in understandability and merit of art works.

All in all, the works that most people understand are valuable art works, but those that are not understood by the public because of exquisite artistic skills and profound cultural background are also of high value.