Casual Aesthetics: The Artist’s Choice

Richard Wentworth's work 'Yellow Eight'

 

An artist stands at countless crossroads of decision-making while creating a work of art. Even in the simple act of drawing a single dot, they must decide where to place it on the vast canvas. And when it comes to depicting objects, the number of choices multiplies—where to position them, in which direction to draw them, whether to render them sharply or blur them into softness.

 

The same was true for the creation of Yellow Eight, a piece that cleverly connects two buckets to resemble the number 8. The choice of buckets as material, the decision to cut and attach them in a particular shape, the selection of the liquid’s color, and even the naming of the work—all of these seemingly minor choices contribute to an artwork that, at first glance, might leave viewers wondering, What on earth is this? Yet, even for such a deceptively simple piece, the artist undergoes a significant number of decision-making steps.

 

This might seem like an attempt to assign profound meaning to art, but in reality, life itself may not be so different. Every person constantly stands at crossroads, making choices for their life and work. In fact, the everyday choices of an ordinary viewer often yield immediate and tangible social benefits—far more so than the artistic decision to attach two buckets together, shape them into an 8, and fill them with yellow liquid.

 

And yet, intriguingly, the choices made by an artist—such as contemplating where to place a single dot—are often perceived as profound or even particularly challenging. Why is that? Is it merely a misguided preconception? This question leads to a deeper curiosity: What, after all, are the truly valuable choices in life, whether for an artist or for anyone else?