Oscar Wilde- "Preface to the Picture of Dorian Gray"

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder! Oscar Wilde expressed this in “ Preface to the Picture of Dorian Gray”. I love the fact that Wilde used words to express the interpretation of art. I believe that this poem serves as a median for artists and people who have not the slightest idea of the study of art. Although the preface was intended for a piece of art I feel like it can be applied to many other idealism in our society; those such as fashion, music, and even knowledge. Everyone has a different interpretation of beauty.

Wilde simply explains that no artist is morbid. Instead, they just bring their inner expressions to the surface. I found this to be interesting because there are times when a work of art is not as simple as pretty pastels on a canvas. Art can have depth, darkness and even symbolism however these non-traditional ways of expression are the artist’s ways of showing a difference in emotion within them. It is not fair for people who express themselves through the use of language to just see these particular pieces as “morbid”. Just like curse words and emotionally-charged language is used for a speaker or a poet, symbolism and color serves as the vice for artists.

Although everyone looks at the same canvas, there are many interpretations of exactly what is taking place. Wilde ends the preface by saying that all art is useless. However I disagree with him based on my interpretation of this piece, all art has meaning however the meaning is not concrete. Therefore Art is in the eye of the beholder, not only the artists.