Is modern art pointless?

Love it or hate it, many people have strong opinions on modern art. To some, it’s a way of expressing ideas in original and thought-provoking ways; to others, it’s not really “art”... it’s more of an excuse to make money from arranging ordinary objects on a table and naming the installation “life.

Modern art seems to be somewhat “cool” nowadays, with galleries popping up in cities all over the world. I’ve been to a number of modern art museums on family holidays, there’s something I quite enjoy about looking at the weird sculptures. Admittedly, maybe I just like it because I want to like it, but sometimes the exhibits are actually really cool. I’m not saying that I think particularly hard about the abstract meanings behind the bedazzled skull or shark suspended in a glass box (yep, it was a Damien Hirst exhibition), but they’re still arguably more interesting to look at than medieval paintings.

Maybe it’s the fact that modern art stirs some kind of feeling within you that makes it worthwhile and important. Modern art does raise the interesting question: what constitutes art? Some say poetry, ballet, music... others say any kind of self-expression. Others would automatically think of the classical painters: Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Raphael. Whatever your definition, I guess it’s just good that people are going to galleries and coming out with strong opinions in a world where it’s so easy to waste your day on the Internet. It helps when the gallery or museum is free though, that’s for sure.