Metrics As A Replacement for Artistic Intent

Written December 14th, 2016 - Posted January 4th, 2017

For some reason it has become fashionable to ask “how many views does it have?” when one encounters a new work of art.

I find this pretty confusing. Maybe it’s due to online creator’s enthusiasm for making an industry out of a very very new art form, but for some reason people now prefer to judge an artwork by its audience rather than by the piece itself or its affect on an individual.

Has it always been this way?

Can you imagine if the first thing a critic asked about the Mona Lisa was “how many likes does it have?”

Past engagement is a terrible way to gauge the potential of a piece of art. But perhaps it is useful. I’m just not sure how useful.

Judging the potential of a piece of work is a terrible thing to do without first learning about the work itself and its maker’s intent.