I don't get art. I don't want to pretend to understand and like something that doesn’t speak to me.

If I see something I like, I appreciate it. I may enjoy the look, the texture, the form and shape of any particular piece. Generally for me (don’t know about other people) it’s an emotive appreciation. It gives me remembrance of a person, a place—a belief, a narrative in my own history, the stories I know and claim. Art I like always gives me something. It may give me myself, it may give me something completely outside my experience. It may give me understanding of what I’ve never known, what I may never know.

I understand that everyone will like different kinds of art. Diverse pieces will whisper personal stories to individuals on various levels. I’m glad for that, so I’m not dissing museum choices. But I get the distinct feeling that if I declare I don’t like something considered an “important piece” I am seen as less of an art appreciator than the one who unconditionally accepts that artistry is attached to a name that someone, somewhere decided was good.

I saw Picasso’s Femme Couchee Lisant and Warhol’s Twenty-five Colored Marilyns. Two big names. I didn’t like those particular pieces. Honestly I didn’t like most of what I saw. A few things held my interest. I guess I’m just not “into” modern art. How uncool of me.