Against Interpretation

Susan Sontag’s article Against Interpretation talks about interpretation of art. She states that interpreting art actually depletes it. Sontag says that by reducing an artwork to its content and then interpreting that, one “tames” the artwork. She also says that interpretation indicates dissatisfaction with the art, and a wish to replace it with something else. I disagree with Susan Sontag. I think a person’s interpretation of an art piece is what makes it art to them. To fully understand a piece of art I think you need to interpret it, and try to figure out the artist’s reason for making a certain piece. I don’t think that trying to understand the art depletes the art. I do agree with one point that she makes. She says that interpretation separates art into categories, such as abstract, decorative, or non-art. I think this is true and maybe sometime an artwork will get categorized into something when it wasn’t the artist’s aim to do that. The viewer may have a different take on the piece than the artist had intended. However, I don’t think we should cease to interpret art. People take different perspectives away from a piece of art and that’s what makes it art to them.