Subjectivity in Art: What Your Taste Might Actually Reveal

Season 3, Episode 7

Why do we like what we like?

It’s easy to write something off as “not for me.” But if you look a little closer, there’s often something deeper underneath.

In this episode, I’m unpacking the idea that our taste in art isn’t always objective—and sometimes, our reactions say more about us than the work itself.

From personal insecurities to creative comparison, this is a conversation about openness, awareness, and what it really means to engage with art.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome back to your next chapter, the podcast for women who read, write, and live creatively. I'm your host, Rebecca Hasselak. And I've been thinking a lot lately about how we respond to art. Not just what we like or don't like, but why we actually respond the way we do. Because on the surface, it can feel simple. You read something, you watch something, you hear something, and you either connect with it or you don't. But the more I've paid attention to my own reactions, the more I've realized it's not always that straightforward. Sometimes what we like has very little to do with the art itself. And sometimes what we don't like has even less to do with it. So I'll have to dig into that a little bit today. Not in a super analytical way, but just in an honest observational way. Because I think there's something really important here, especially if you're someone who creates. The first thing I want you to ask yourself is why do we like or dislike certain art? And I want you to be really honest about this because sometimes it's very easy to diss certain types of art and it feels like we're justified or oh, this is just my opinion. But when you really dig deeper, you might actually find that there is kind of a layer hidden hidden under the surface. So I'm going to give you an example. There is an author who has been wildly successful in the romantic comedy genre. And I don't like to say particular authors' names, especially if I'm saying anything at all negative, but you'll see where I'm going with this. In any event, she has been just wildly successful, so many fans, so much commercial success. And at first, when I started hearing about her books, I was very resistant. I was a little bit, let's just say, arrogant. I was like, romantic comedy, give me a break. The romance genre, so many tropes. If you're not familiar with a trope, it's basically a genre expectation. So if you write romance, for instance, it is expected that you are going to hit certain beats in your plot. It is expected to follow a certain formula, and it is expected to end with a happy ending. And so to me, I always like suspense books, I like books with a twist, I like big reveals and surprises. And so romance always felt formulaic. So I very much resisted reading this author's books. And I sort of was negative about them, not to other people. I don't like to really diss creators ever, to other people. But in my own head, I was kind of like, eh, that's not really worth my time. And then I decided to give one of them a chance. I forget why. And as I read, you know, there were still some things that maybe aren't my particular taste. For instance, a really quippy dialogue where it's like, oh my gosh, this is adorable to read, and yet you know this would never happen in real life. And so that was a little hard for me because I was like, come on, no one's talking like that. No one's this funny. Maybe some people are, but no people I've encountered in real life are that funny that often. So, in any event, where I'm going with this is that I sort of sat with that for a little bit and I dug into it and I realized, you know, part of why I might be having this reaction is because I have always felt like I'm not particularly funny. I'm not quippy. I don't usually have a great comeback. I don't ever feel like I'm the most skilled conversationalist in the room. And so that's sort of an insecurity of mine. And I think when you consume art that hits on an insecurity of yours, it's very easy just to say, oh, I don't like it and to not engage with it. But once I realized that, I was like, you know what? I don't have to be funny or quippy. I can just enjoy that this is what it is. And it's funny, it's genuinely funny. It's very well written. And I'm I'm having a good time reading this. So why do I need to let my preconceived notions get in the way? Ever since then, I sort of binged all of her books and I loved them. And it just opened my eyes to the fact that, you know, sometimes we're really closed off to art for reasons that really don't, it's not that they don't matter, obviously our feelings matter, but for reasons that are kind of silly if you really dig into it. And then the other important reminder about it is as a writer, I immediately get a little competitive with other writers, even though I'm not published and they are, or whatever the case may be, wherever they are on their journey. It's normal to feel like, oh, why is this person receiving so much success and I'm still not published, especially if there's something you maybe don't care for in their books or their art. But what I realized is I'm not competing with that exact author. I am competing with, yes, all authors for market share, but I'm not trying to be the funny, quippy, dialogue y writer like that. My books are completely different. So I shouldn't feel threatened by this. I should just be able to enjoy this process. And my whole point in that is that I want to encourage everybody to be open to all sorts of art, even if it's something that you think you won't like. There will still be things you're not going to appreciate. Everybody does have different tastes, but just be open. So kind of wanted to kick it off with that. Subjectivity, right? So millions of people were loving these books, and I was still a holdout and being like, not for me. And then it turns out I actually really enjoy them. So who knew? But when it comes to subjectivity, I think it's important that we remember that popularity is not the same as quality. It's very easy to think, oh, this sold millions or this topped the charts or whatever, and to think that means it's the best. The best is so relative, you guys. It is so subjective. Because again, even though I enjoyed that author's books, that might not be my favorite type of book ever. And there have been other authors who whose books have done incredibly well and I couldn't even finish. I couldn't even get through for one reason or another. And so that's just telling you that just because something's popular doesn't mean it's the highest quality. And also, I'm not the arbiter of quality. So even if there's something I didn't like, but a lot of people did, that doesn't mean it's bad just because I didn't like it. You know what I'm saying? So let's think about this in terms of the Mona Lisa, because that is worth billions of dollars. Billions with a B, crazy. And it's a cool piece of artwork. Don't get me wrong, it is iconic. But when I actually look at the Mona Lisa, I'm sort of like, okay, that's beautiful. It's a million times better than what I could paint. But aren't there countless artists today who could paint just as realistically? I think there are. And so why is it that that one piece of artwork has garnered so much attention and praise and notoriety and value? And the fact is that value in art is not just about technical skill. And I think this is where it gets a little complicated because we like to believe that art rises to the top based purely on merit, that the best work wins, but there are so many other forces at play. There's exposure, timing, who's talking about it, who's funding it, who even has access to it in the first place, and familiarity. The more we see something, the more normal it feels, the more normal it feels, the more we tend to accept it. And again, none of that makes any of this bad, but it does mean that what we perceive as the best isn't always just about quality. So maybe the takeaway here isn't to overanalyze every reaction we have to art, although it might seem like that's what I was doing. It's just to stay aware, to stay a little curious about your own responses, to ask yourself, is this really about the work or is there something else shaping how I'm seeing it? Because the more awareness we have as consumers, the more freedom we have as creators. We don't have to chase what's popular, we don't have to reject what doesn't feel like us. We just have to understand where we stand and create from there. And next week I will be talking about popularity. So a little more about those factors that do sometimes bring certain works to the forefront in our culture and in our society and things that people are kind of paying attention to across the board and why that happens and what we can learn from that. But for now, I want to just leave you with a quick quote. A nice nin, and I am certain I'm probably saying that wrong, so I apologize, says, we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. And this is so true in so many areas of our lives. So stay open, stay honest with yourself, and don't be afraid to question your own perspective a little bit. There's often more to it than we think. Until next time, keep creating and keep turning the page.