CHAPTER SIX

An audience can have very different opinions or reactions to different pieces of art, some might feel shocked, some might feel humoured and some might feel inspired. They may also have different interpretations of the artwork, and some of which may not even be the interpretation that the artist intended, the artist would have only had one meaning or interpretation to portray and yet it will do so much more. These interpretations occur uniquely to everyone, there may be similar reactions however there may ones that are completely obscure, it depends on the individual. They may feel disgusted toward a piece of work because of the manor of which they were brought up, as they may have never seen an obscene piece of artwork, whereas someone who has a very keen interest in art and who has visit many art galleries will find it intriguing. An example of this is the piece of video art by Paul McCarthy in the Tate Modern called Material Gestures, where a man was wearing a mask and jumping around, naked with his genitalia tucked in behind his legs. This video could have two particular reponses, one of disgust and shock and the other one could be quite comical.