The Psychology of Appreciation (감상의 심리학) - 오성주

 


Art has now fully entered the realm of consumption. Whenever I go to an exhibition, I wonder why people spend more time taking pictures than actually looking at the artwork. The sight of visitors walking past artworks, snapping photos with their smartphones, has become all too familiar. I am not entirely free from this habit either. In the age of consumption, we have learned to consume art, but we seem to have forgotten how to appreciate it. 

 

Professor Sung-Joo Oh's *감상의 심리학* serves as a valuable compass in these times. The short yet powerful sentence, *“Appreciation is a special psychological behavior that occurs in front of a work of art,”* resonates deeply. It shifts our perspective from the simple question of *“What is art?”* to *“What happens to us when we stand before it?”* Within this shift lies a trace of the relationship between art and the viewer—one that we have lost (and perhaps forgotten). 

 

We do all to do under capitalism with buying a ticket to an exhibition. What happens afterward is left entirely to the domain of art. However, most of us do not know how to go over the boundary. The author applies a psychological lens to help us uncover the answer to a question that seems to have been cast into the wilderness: Why do some paintings capture our attention in 0.1 seconds while others pass us by in less than 10?

 

The key lies in acquiring both a painterly and a sentimental attitude. We must stop viewing paintings as mere material objects—this is both the beginning and the end of true appreciation. By recognizing that appreciating a work of art is not a passive act but an active and intentional psychological engagement, we can find a way to cross the invisible boundary between consumption and appreciation. 

 

Even if art has been swallowed by the realm of consumption, it still holds the potential to return to true appreciation. In an age when few exhibition visitors care whether they are looking at a photograph or a painting, and when most are too busy taking photos with their phones, this book reminds us to stop and truly *look*. 

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