ABSTRACT
This chapter considers three issues that arise in the context of the audience's perspective in art. The first issue is the very notion of an aesthetic experience, the simple act of encountering art. The second issue is the interpretation of art. The third issue is the critique of art. Some art author think is great and some art he think stinks and some art just leaves us cold. Besides the influential views of Aristotle and Edward Bullough, Marcia Muelder Eaton has identified three broad conceptions of aesthetic experience. One is that an aesthetic experience is a matter of having some sort of special sense. This idea is found in many historical views about art and aesthetics, especially those of the early modern period. The chapter considers what it is to have an aesthetic experience. It looks more closely at the issue of criticism. For now, author will just say that interpretation is between mere description and evaluative criticism.
