So what does truth mean in art? It doesn’t mean anything in the art is true. That’s not its job. Art is supposed to alter the perception of the viewer so the truth can be seen, and that is its job. Truth, it turns out, is everywhere all the time, but sometimes it seems invisible because no one can see it. There are examples.
Safe examples would be the ones we’ve already resolved, like smoking. The truth was always there, but it was invisible. It wasn’t a shock to anyone that tobacco was addicting, devastating to health, a poison manipulated to cause the most harm in order to obtain the biggest profit. Everyone had known all of it for a hundred years and they weren’t called ‘coffin nails’ for nothing, but the public couldn’t see it and wouldn’t acknowledge it. These days public service announcements trumpet the news that tobacco is bad, but back in 1965 during an interview John and Paul smoking cigarettes seemed perfectly natural. In fact, it only seems odd from here.
There are other truths closer to our own time we’re still not ready to look at directly, I’m guessing. If you’d like to see them, try looking at art. Think of art as similar to workout equipment for the professional athlete, not the game itself but an enhancement of the level of play. So in the museum it’s a picture of some king in armor, what’s next? -- wait. That shiny breastplate isn’t really made of metal. It’s an arrangement of colors on a flat surface cleverly telling you a lie, and if you can see the lies in art you’ll be more impressed and amused by artists, some artists, and on your way to becoming more discerning when you read the paper. If you can learn to trust your own eyes and see what’s actually there in a work of art, regardless of what experts tell you, you’re on your way to seeing through TV commercials and what politicians would like you to believe. It’s like doing exercise.
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