People are different

You can’t please all the people any of the time.

We venture into an area in which we have no professional expertise, prompted by observations from our photographer.  After a session going through others’ photographs, some of noted excellence, he came to a conclusion that we’ll call the Exclusionary Rule (never mind that those words have a different meaning in another context).  It states that, no matter how great and wonderful any particular piece of Art may be, there will always be someone who is unmoved.  It is not a deficiency on the part of the viewer/listener.  He or she may appreciate other works of similar style or character, or enjoy as fine a taste and artistic education as anyone else.  Nor is it a fault of the artist, who may find others breaking down in tears at the mere thought of his/her achievement.  It is a result of the fact that people are different.

The Rule means that there will be someone who is unimpressed by the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, who finds a Dickens novel just tedious, or who thinks of the Hallelujah Chorus as at best acceptable background music if not played too loud.  The Excluded person has no doubt learned not to be too vocal about his/her opinion.  In many cases, the Excluded go along with any rapturous commentary so as not to be thought philistines.  (That’s a bit of hypocrisy that Art would be better without, but is probably unavoidable.)  There are a few Excluded who are forthright in their dissent at any occasion; they are not assets to social gatherings.

It’s not a matter of changing tastes.  The masterpieces of one era are not often fully appreciated by another.  Shakespeare’s plays were thought barbarous by the more refined theater-goers of the eighteenth century, and the Jacobean country mansions of his contemporary noblemen were rejected according to the later rules of Classical architecture.  That’s normal.  The Excluded person of that era would be unmoved by some accepted contemporary masterpiece.

There are two main implications of the Exclusionary Rule, both of some comfort to various people.  First, if you find you’re not impressed by something that other (responsible and knowledgeable) people are raving about, it’s not your fault.  It’s not some deficiency in your soul, or a vast conspiracy of piffle.  [Well, not necessarily.]  Our tutor is reminded of one student who was being forced to spend much time and effort on Emily Dickinson’s poetry, though she loathed the works.  The student unfortunately concluded that all poetry was a waste of time.  (Poetry is probably more subject to the Exclusionary Rule than any other form of art.)

Second, if you are an artist, you won’t please everyone.  Even if you’re vastly successful in your work with most people, someone won’t get it.  It’s not something to dwell on.  (Alas, the Excluded person may well be a widely-followed critic.)

So feel free to enjoy or create what you like, and avoid what you do not.  But remember that the Exclusionary Rule means someone else does not agree with you.