Art Fitness Training at the GRAM: Should we really need to be trained to appreciate art?

[Bill Fischer]

At the GRAM you can sign up for Art Training during Artprize. Here is their description of the event: "Certified Art Fitness trainers will lead a group discussion and short tour that teaches the elements of art criticism in a fun and accessible way". I can attest that part of the reason I enjoy looking at art is because I have a lot of training in the subject. I am a professor of art and design. Frankly without this training, I would not be able to connect with a lot of contemporary art. It would simply be puzzling to me in the same way that watching a NASCAR race on TV is puzzling to my artist colleagues. If you don't know the driver's back stories and the subtle strategies being employed, it just looks like a bunch of brightly painted cars driving around in a circle. But art often claims to be integral to the health of our culture, even our society. Sport typically claims to be entertainment. Should art come to us, or should we go to art?