How to Admire Tacky Art
By eHow Contributing Writer/From Ehow.com
There are certain times when honesty isn't the best policy--like when your boss is asking you what you think of the hideously tacky art he's hung in his office. Yet admiring tacky art doesn't have to require deception. With a sense of humor and the right perspective, you can appreciate bad art--even terrible, vile, atrocious art.
Instructions
Step 1 Decide why you've judged the art as tacky. Art can be tacky because it's a cliche, with no originality, because it takes itself too seriously, because it pretentiously tries to imitate a period style of painting--or because it simply lacks personality, like the bad art often hung in motel rooms.
Step 2 Acknowledge that if you're seeing the art, the artist can't be a complete failure, since he sold it to the mall, hotel room, restaurant or other location where it is displayed. Artistic skill is one time of success, but commercial performance is nothing to sneeze at. Many art critics describe Thomas Kincaide's work as tacky, yet you have to give him credit for tapping the pulse of thousands of American art buyers.
Step 3 Find something technical about the bad art to praise--whether the artist captured the feathers on the wistful looking owl perfectly, or she did not botch the perspective in her Mona Lisa inspired bridal portrait of a spoiled debutante. This is praise you can share with the artist or the person who bought the tacky art, if you're standing beside either of them.
Step 4 Laugh at the tacky art, if there's no one around whose feelings would be hurt. Giving you amusement of any sort is something else you can appreciate about the bad art.
Step 5 Recognize that art appreciation is entirely subjective. What you view as tacky might be a masterpiece to someone else.
