How to Enjoy Art: A Guide for Everyone

by Ben Street

An entertaining and lively guide to rediscovering the pleasure in art

How to Enjoy A Guide for Everyone provides the tools to understand and enjoy works of art. Debunking the pervasive idea that specialist knowledge is required to understand and appreciate art, instead How to Enjoy Art focuses on experience and pleasure, demonstrating how anyone can find value and enjoyment in art. Examples from around the world and throughout art history—from works by Fra Angelico and Berthe Morisot to Kazuo Shiraga and Kara Walker—are used to demonstrate how a handful of core strategies and skills can help enhance the experience of viewing art works. With these skills, anyone can encounter any work of art—regardless of media, artist or period—and find some resonance with their own experiences. How to Enjoy Art encourages us to rediscover the fundamental pleasure in viewing art.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Self Help, Book Club

160 pages, Hardcover

Published October 26, 2021

About the author

Ben Street is a writer, educator and art historian based in London. He is the author of several books on art for general and younger readers, He has also written for numerous publications, including museum catalogues, monographs and magazines, most regularly Apollo, Art Review and the Times Literary Supplement. He has participated as an expert on TV and radio programmes for the BBC and was the presenter and co-author (with Al Smith) of ‘Duchamp’s Urinal’ for BBC Radio 4. He is currently researching and writing a PhD on the late work of Philip Guston.

He has worked as a lecturer and educator for many museums and educational institutions, including the National Gallery, Tate, the Royal Academy, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Christie’s Education, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York. IHe has devised and written interpretative materials (audio-visual and written guides) for many exhibitions at the Royal Academy, Tate and the National Gallery.

Reviews

[Ilse · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to enjoy art: A guide for Everyone is a friendly, low-threshold vade mecum which provides the reader with a few tools to enhance one’s appreciation of and pleasure in works of art and to develop one’s engagement with them. Written by a specialist for non-specialists, art historian and educator Ben Street offers assistance to the reader to find points of access to works of art by looking beyond the meaning one would draw from what is depicted or the traditional approach to categorize art in isms and the veneration of the canon.

This is a remarkably gentle book. Street approaches the reader kindly, almost cautiously, to make his point that specialist knowledge is not required to enjoy art. His is a warm invitation to engage with a work of art more intuitively and ‘viscerally’, not just cerebrally but by engaging all our senses when we approach a work of art, for instance by thinking in terms of a work of art’s physical resonance. He is aware that art, as stored in sacerdotal, silence-inspiring art temples like museums, churches and art galleries which one fears to thread can have an intimidating effect which makes people decide art is not for them because they assume they will fall short in understanding it, an assumption which is also reinforced by writing on art, at times turgid or hermetic.


Nicholas Hilliard, An unknown man, c 1600

Ben Street presents five distinct points of entry which can be helpful when we try to listen to the way a work of art speaks: colour, scale, process, placement and content – the latter deliberately coming last. Street dedicates a chapter to these five points of entry, illustrating each one with examples chosen throughout art history, ranging from ancient Egypt over Fra Angelico to contemporary art (Kara Walker, Lubaina Himid). I loved his insight that works of art have a tone of voice as well as poems, there are some who scream and some who whisper – if only by their size, miniature or monumental.


Fra Angelico, Venice, San Marco

Another radiant and beautiful observation of Street is that a work of art needs time to what one thinks of it, and how much memories play a role in the meaning works of art get in our life – memory which is as much about how it felt to be there as about the art itself, the afterlife or ghostly life in the mind of an audience engaging with ephemeral forms of art like installation, performance and video art, the imaginative footprint a work of art that goes on existing in memory and imagination.


Lubaina Himid, Jelly Mould pavilion 2017

Written in a flowing, simple language, mostly free of art jargon, this is an accessible and pleasant read. The title however struck me as slightly ambivalent, trying to sit in two chairs at once, and made me wonder about the potential readership for this book: will it effectively speak to such a general audience as it seems to reach out to, or rather preach to the choir of readers already enjoying and interested in art? For the latter category of readers, I imagine an alternative title would also cover the merits of the book adequately: How to enjoy Art more.

How can we enjoy are more? According to Street this can be done by Not just reading the content of a painting and translation that into language, but paying closer attention to other aspects of experiencing the work that perhaps aren’t so easily analysed in art-historical terminology. This means paying attention to things that might actually appear obvious, things we might not otherwise consider: the scale of the work in relation to our own bodies; the way it was made and the marks of its making; the expression and effect of its colour; the way it feels to be there in its presence.

In Street’s perspective, enjoying art more means to be in the presence of the real work of art – a bodily, sensory experience. Reproductions – as positive they are as an extension of the imaginative footprint of art, are reductive, lack the scale and the surface qualities of the original object, but also the unique way in which works of art are interwoven with human bodily life, with experiences of space and weather and other people, and from their meanings rather additional potential.


Saloua Raouda Choucair, Poem, 1963-65,

A certain irony struck me in Street’s recurrent reflection that words are not able to capture the art experience as allegedly this book, besides the 30 illustrations , not unexpectedly mainly exist of words to nudge and invite the reader into the experience of art (a much as it is true that not all human experience can be easily described in words, the precision and existence of words in the context of art in my opinion are often helpful and enlightening to appreciate a work of art (another of Ben Street’s book seems to cater for that longing for words to capture the art experience, 200 Words to Help You Talk About Art). As I do love to read about art and I do love to visit museums, this accentuating of the falling short of words in the context of appreciating art, it took me until the third chapter before I could comfortably and entirely surrender myself to Street’s discourse. Probably this is just a personal peeve, without words I often feel lost in the visual – and such is one of the reasons I love reading about art, hoping words will learn me how to look.

Yet I find Street’s nudge to refuse the siren call of the wall text and to foreground for instance the act of actually looking in the process of building meaning, immensely valuable and useful– even more as a person so obsessed with words that I seem to need words to enable me to even notice what is non-verbal visually. It is an excellent and refreshing advice to break free from the museum label, from the obvious contents depicted on or in a work of art – the invitation to engage physically with a work, to take the experience of being in a space with a work of art to refine our interpretation and exploration of its meaning – by simple acts like walking around sculptures, stepping back and resist reading the museum tags first (name of the artist, date, title). Street reminds the reader that ‘each label on a museum wall is the very tip of a vast iceberg of scholarship and speculation’, and like (art) history research, open to evolve, to fluctuate, to be erased by new interpretations. He posits that there is always room for creative interpretation, ‘even when faced with a seemingly impenetrable wall of veneration’.


Zoe Leonard, Strange fruit, 1992-97

Looking forward to bring into practice what I have garnered from this book I started dreaming of visiting Museum M in Leuven and the David Hockney exhibition Brussels soon– and preparing a visit to Museum M clarified there is, apart from the five points of entry, one other overarching aspect necessary to appreciate art: time. To experience art more deeply and richly, one needs to take time to literally stand still in the face of a work of art, to slow down one’ s pace and stay. I heartily agree with Street that taking time is essential to connect to a work of art – the intensity of attention one can or wants to give to a work of art is crucial to engage with the work of art, to create a more intimate relation with it, to bond. Unspectacular this conclusion might be, it is a welcome reminder in our hectic times in which so many stimuli seem to scream for our attention.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Yale University Press for the ARC.

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very readable, short book that is an excellent guide to art appreciation. I love looking at art works – in museums, in churches, art galleries, on the street … I have a fairly good idea of what I like: medieval paintings (often Christian religious), modern art, Islamic, anything geometric, symmetrical and a lot of sculpture, ceramics, mosaics – and what I don’t like: battle scenes, still life, most 18th and 19th century paintings. But, I don’t always know why a piece of art appeals to me – or leaves me cold – and I am often surprised by my reactions to certain works. I have no artistic training, and a five-year-old could probably create a piece of art better than I, so what I wanted from this book, was some guidance as to what to look for when I see something new, and some understanding of my likes/dislikes.

“And there are certainly artworks that are hard to enjoy, or whose intention is not to provide pleasure; they may, rather, engross, engage, challenge or enlighten us. But regardless of the sorts of experiences art can provide, one thing can be said: works of art, like all the arts, ought to be for anyone.”

The book is divided into chapters on:
1) Colour – colours used, shading, changes in the colours over time, whether the colours are separate or bleed into each other.
2) Scale – Is it intimate or huge? How does the scale relate to your own size?
3) Process – how did the artist create the work? What materials are used? How much time could it have taken – minutes, hours, years? Was it the work of one person or many? When was it created? For whom?
4) Placement – is it in an art gallery, museum, stately home, house, public place, inside or outside, church, mosque …? Is it high up, at eye level? How many people can view it at once? What does where it is, say about the art work?
and 5) Content – what is depicted? What can you relate it to?
Although various pieces of art are reproduced in the book to illustrate particular ideas, no genre or type of art, or artist, is recommended over any other. The ideas can be applied to any and all art works with which you come into contact.

“The point of this is twofold: to freshen our engagement with art by emphasising the present-tense experience of actually looking at it, and to explore ways in which anyone might find value and enjoyment in spending time with works of art, wherever and whoever they might be.”

As I was reading this book, I visited the Sophie Taeuber-Arp exhibition at the London Tate Modern. I knew almost nothing about the artist before I went, apart from that she was married to Jean Arp, who had created one of my favourite sculptures. It was a perfect opportunity to put some of the lessons from the book into practice. The artist worked with a great range of materials – paints, crayons, tapestry, wood, plywood, metal, wire, feathers … She made abstract art paintings and drawings, stained glass, puppets, designed stage sets, furnishings and clothing … By applying the ideas given in the book, I was able to get so much more out of my visit, than I would have in the past. Sophie Taeuber-Arp has now become one of my favourite artists. I found I was actively thinking about the art and spending a lot longer in front of each piece, noticing things I would have overlooked previously.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to appreciate art – in whatever situation you find it, whenever and however. This is a book for all people, of all ages.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by either the author or publisher.

[Gary Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short, but inspiring work, the author suggests five alternative themes to take into consideration when engaging with a work of art. Rather than starting with the rational question of what the artist has attempted to make manifest with their work of art, the author urges the reader towards a more visceral reaction. Certainly, you can pat yourself on the back for having recognised in a painting the characters of an obscure Greek myth, or a 16th century pope, and move on from there, but this would be robbing yourself of the experience of experience. As the author so nicely puts it, why would you ask such a closed question of an artwork? The author devotes a chapter to illustrate each theme in a number of well-known or lesser known artworks covering paintings, sculptures and photography, from Fra Angelico to the abstract art of Mrinalini Mukherjee.  The themes range from the rather obvious "colour" and "scale" to "process", "placement" and finally "content". 

I consider myself an avid enthousiast when it comes to art, and have spent many an hour wandering through the Louvre, Hermitage,  Met and Prado. Having read this book, I've realised that art for me has indeed always leant more towards an experience of recognition. The author is dismissive of the importance of labels and I similarly wonder what he thinks of my constant use of audio-guides to "rationalise" my way through a museum. For my next visit to a museum, whenever that may be, I have promised myself to spend less time reading the accompanying labels and spend more time travelling down the inroads of Street's suggested themes.

This book is highly recommended for anyone, like me, who considers themselves an enthousiast deserving of a subtle nudge in re-assessing their appreciation of art.

#HowtoEnjoyArt #NetGalley

[The Reading Mouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without an art history degree, art can sometimes seem inaccessible and intimidating. In How To Enjoy Art, Ben Street attempts to tackle the daunting task of understanding and appreciating art in it many varied forms for the novice wherever you may find it. Street breaks it down into 5 chapters focussing on Colour, Scale, Process, Placement and finally Content using many different examples of art to illustrate his points.

Street writes about being active in looking at art, rather then being passive in thought, and asking questions to further your understanding of the piece at the present time and context in which you are viewing it, as appreciation of art is always open-ended and evolving.

A very rewarding read for anyone wanting to understand more about art, or how to garner a deeper appreciation of art.

Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for a copy in return for an honest review.

[Julie Stielstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I have a degree in art history, worked in a major American art museum, and have haunted art museums and art books for much of my life. The concept of this book appealed enormously, but... I didn't get quite what I was expecting.

Street is a widely experienced art historian and educator, so has way more cred than I do when it comes to helping people understand and/or enjoy art. I loved the idea of ways that *anyone* and *everyone* (his words) can enjoy art. So I expected the book to be one that anyone and everyone with even a mild interest in art could pick up and benefit from his expert guidance - I did. He articulates ways to look at a piece of art, what kinds of questions it might pose, how you might recognize what arouses your own responses, and how to further explore them. As someone who is usually baffled by a lot of contemporary art, I found this useful. When I turned the page to a photo of a huge street installation consisting of 1550 wooden chairs in a pile wedged between two buildings, I stopped and looked and asked myself questions, gave myself answers, and decided it was actually impressive and even moving because of the thoughts it prompted. I went from befuddlement to admiration, even in a few minutes with a photo.

That said, if I were to give this book to, say, my sister, an educated, literate person with relatively little experience looking at art, I'm not sure she would get the same benefit I did. Describing a large contemporary sculpture of a blue rooster, Street says [it]: "...generates a productive tension within the traditional way of seeing. By shaking colour loose from description - literally using colour against its description - it's allowed to stand on its own, and might seem to be speaking in a completely different register from its surface." This kind of language is intelligible to someone who already is already comfortably familiar with art talk, but to the "everyone" or "anyone" the book is ostensibly aimed at... maybe not so much. I also take some issue with Street's objection to the "story" a work of art may be telling: he doesn't find "depiction" very helpful, and is brisk (but interesting) on the topic of wall labels. Personally, looking back at my teenaged years poring through art books, what really deepened and expanded my experience with the images (and yes, Ben, we know photographs don't ever do justice to the real thing) was learning the stories - of the subject of the painting, of the artist, how it came to be made, what the artist actually did in order to make it do what it did. So I'd hesitate to dismiss that kind of information as blithely as he does. Still, my value for it came after my initial emotional / visual reaction to the art itself, and Street's focus is on that primary response.

A worthwhile read for those exploring how people respond to art, for educators who want to help them do it better, and to possibly enhance what some of us already do but want to do it better. But not an "Enjoying Art 101" text. And once again, I register my usual gripe about the tiny, not-very-good illustrations - but then, Street stresses that photos are never worthy of the originals anway.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very easy to read and provides various ideas on how to think about art when you have an opportunity. It's not really a 'how-to' guide in a traditional sense because it doesn't contain lists of what to do and how to do it, but the author helpfully illustrates his points by discussing various works of art alongside his ideas on how to look at it.

I do not recommend reading it on a black/white e-reader because you'll have to google the images.

[Catie Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple yet inspiring guide any art lover should read

[Natalie Waddell-Rutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting, but not riveting. I do think Street nailed the length. Each topic got it's own chapter, and they weren't padded with too many details or examples. I did appreciate that Street provided color reproductions of art to elucidate the points he raised in each chapter. That way I didn't have to imagine what he was discussing - I could see it on the page. Because of this fact, I do feel the book works much better in print than in audio.

If you were to go through all the levels of consideration Street brings up for a single piece of art, you would spend all of your museum time at that piece of art. However, I appreciate the fact that you could pull pieces of the whole set of considerations and still gain a better appreciation for the piece of art that catches your eye.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new art enthusiast, before reading this book, I had been trapped by the explanation provided next to the art work. However, This book taught me how to be independent in enjoying art and interpreting art subjectively. I find it very practical.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This approach is an invitation to not let the ‘scholarly’ opinions intimidate an appreciation of any artwork. Street prompts readers to look at art with consideration and provides perspectives to challenge and develop your own appreciation.

[N.J. Danatangelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great intro to help people access art and break down many of the walls or blockades to doing so. I especially appreciated the last chapter on how we should question much of what we see in the art world.

[Álvaro Mota · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to a whole new level. It not only teached me about appreciating visual art, but all art and even life in general. Everything is so much more than just the plot line. It's also how it was made that plays an intrinsic role in its meaning.

[Sarah Grebinoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been slowly savoring this book over the past 3 months. As a docent in an art museum, I'm looking to expand the different ways that I can engage in conversations about artworks with the public. Ben Street's book has given me plenty of different ideas to think about.
Two big takeaways for me are the idea that knowing the art history perspective has nothing to do with the viewer's perception of a work of art. A great analogy that the author uses is how all the knowledge about how a song was recorded and what was going on in the world at the time the song was recorded and which exact instruments were used etc. would not speak to how a listener responds to the song.
The second point that jumped out to me is that it sells a work of art short if we just stop at the narrative the artwork could be about. Process, materials, and decisions about what to include and composition are a few more of the aspects that should be taken in to get a more thorough view of any artwork.
I would love to look at art with Ben Street, just a few pieces with lots of time.

[Michael McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite books are those that give me a new perspective. I have always loved going to art museums and even have started to make my own art. Although I was attuned to color (the first of five “acts of intention”) and process (the third) my appreciation could run to the more academic: who did this? When? Why?

Since reading I’ve found myself drawn in by paintings that I would probably have dismissed earlier. Where I would have normally have read the label, I now find myself avoiding doing so until after I’ve had a chance to experience it “unexplained”. Even art by artists I already adored has opened up further through these observational techniques.

Highly recommended.

[Kevin Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a difficult read. Academic. As a beginner to art, Gombrich's The Story of Art entertains me more :)

Helen Frankenthaler, Orange Mood, 1966

Orange of the painting is only that intense because of the action of the blue... the painting is an assemblage of all kinds of colour resonances, some punchy and potent, others soft and discreet. Some seem to have happened throught the accident of the paint's spread and soak, others are evidently carefully arranged. And so on.

[Luxia]

For a book so titled i’d expected much more graphics. This is more philosophical.

[Veronika · Rating 4 out of 5]

long essay about being more present with art

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[El]

dnf @ page 49

[Demy Nong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rate 4.5/5
I’ve always been interested in all forms of art, I like going to galleries, museums and exhibitions. But I always find it very intimidating and self-conscious, almost stupid, that I never dare to discuss my perspective of those artworks. I believe it’s not just me that feels this. This book is exactly what I need. It tackles how we all should approach art ‘independently and subjectively’, you dont need be a scholar in Art History to enjoy art, how words are actually the limitation of art, so you shouldn’t aim to read the label or find the artist’s explanation on the internet (which was what I always do), how art always evolves through time and its setting (that’s why words are its limitation). It also gives examples on how to appreciate art in different ways.
After reading the book, the real question is, is there a bad art?

[Mitch Abolaifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely primer on how to look at visual art. Street get you asking questions about the artists' use of space, color, and other aspects the objects. But, more interestingly, he gets you asking about the artists intentions and what meanings they might have wanted to convey.