Appreciate-Shun

I don't know much about art, but I know what I like. Okay, I know a little bit about art, and I confess that has hindered my appreciation somewhat. I have a brother who makes all manner of fascinating and intriguing pieces - reproductions of movie stills and detailed renderings of neon signs. He's even done a series of silhouettes on the back of industrial baking sheets. These days his focus has shifted to electrified gases - he is now creating his own neon. I'm happy to have many of his paintings and now his neon sculpture hanging in my home. As appealing as I may find many of the images, the thing that brings me back over and over again is the process he goes through. Knowing the artist gives me a great leg up in the appreciation department.
Hearing stories about the creation of any piece of art makes that work more significant to me. The story of "Guernica" is every bit as fascinating as the mural Pablo Picasso made. For me, most of the stories about Picasso's work make me more interested in seeing what came out on the canvas. This same ideal holds true for the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo's struggle to mount his vision is every bit as captivating as the finished product. It's probably why I stopped being a studio art major after a semester. I like the story too much.
For example: "Blessed Art Thou," painted by Kate Kretz is getting a ton of interest presently for its depiction of actress Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary hovering over a Wal-Mart check-out line. "My intention was to ask a question and get people to think," Kretz said in a telephone interview Friday from Miami. "I had no idea so many people would be asking a question and thinking." And what might that question be? For my amusement, and those who share my fascination with the creative process, Ms. Kretz keeps a blog, detailing her thoughts and feelings. Such as: "Angelina Jolie was chosen as the subject because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the world-wide anticipation of her child, her "unattainable" beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status." And wouldn't that look lovely hanging over your sofa?
Again, I don't know a lot about art, but I know what I like: The Stories.