We've all heard the phrase, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," suggesting that beauty is subjective. But is this really the case? I would argue, "no." At least in the case of art. Think about it. Why would art be subjective? Why should it be? Saying that "art is subjective" makes about as much sense as saying "math is subjective."
This is because art is mathematics.
When I was younger, probably a boy around 10-years of age, I believed that mathematics was subjective. Math was my least favorite subject because I saw it as a pointless human invention, and "why do I even need to know it." Of course, these feelings were linked to a web of other beliefs that I held during the time, but the point is that I thought math was stupid and pointless, because I saw it as subjective, and since it was subjective then why did I need to learn it?
Throughout my entire life I was told why math was important. I couldn't understand it and so I would ask parents, peers, and teachers "why do I need to know this?" Their answer was always something along the lines of "Because you do," or "It's important to make it the world," or, in some instances, the classic "you won't always have a calculator!" Consequently, although I'm sure the teachers and parents were giving the best answers they could devise, I still struggled (and honestly, I still struggle with math to this day). I hated mathematics, and as a result, a hatred for humanity slowly started to build within me. I started to view it as the result of human invention, as unnatural and therefore stupid, dumb, and evil (as mentioned above).
My hatred for mathematics was only growing. Eventually, it reached the point of dragging me down. In my last semester of high school (I was homeschooled and did high school online), I had so many late assignments that I literally could not progress (my high school work was done in modules, if I did not complete all the work in a module, then I could not advance to the next one - it was literally a design feature of the system). I kid you not - I was doing 20+ math assignments (lessons, quizzes, and tests) each day just to catch up - just so that I could finish. I still remember those long nights - staying up until 3 in the morning, with graphite dust-stained hands, hovering over my visual aids just wishing to pull my hair out. I went to bed, no joke, dreaming in equations! And the worst part of it all - it didn't work. I didn't do enough - catch up enough. Thus, I had to do the entire class all over again.
I'm sure you could imagine how I felt. My hatred for mathematics - now burned all the stronger.
But I suppose that was good in retrospect, because I used that anger to make sure I did not fall behind again. Staying on top of my assignments gave me enough free time to watch YouTube videos. Eventually, I would watch one video about the Mandelbrot set which would restructure my whole mental frame regarding mathematics.
This video was a single lecture (here is a link to the video), that found its way into my YouTube feed (at the age of 20), by Dr. Jason Lisle (a creation scientist). I thought it looked intriguing, so I watched it, and my mind was instantly blown into a thousand fractals. After I had watched the whole lecture, I was left sitting there on my bedroom floor in tears, thinking to myself "A bit, too late." Mathematics was finally shown to me in a language I could understand - Art. The Mandelbrot set is seriously one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen - mathematics a masterpiece made by none other but God Himself. I realized that I had been attributing hatred towards something God made, hatred in the form of credit to something that didn't deserve it - that I was wrong.
Finally, after so many years of struggling and fighting against having "mathematics shoved down my throat," after being told so many times why it was humanly important - it was finally shown to me, in a way that I could understand.
Mathematics is not subjective - it is an objective abstract reality made by God's mind. Now, it has me thinking the same way about art. You see, if mathematics is equal to art, then art must be equal to mathematics. Art is mathematical. Which suggests that it too must exist within an objective abstract realm made by God's mind. Perhaps something akin to Plato's true forms (if the Mandelbrot set represents a "true form" of mathematics, then what might represent a "true form" of art? What if mathematics is the true form for art?) All in all, it has me curious about other fractals (such as the golden ratio), and how mathematics relates to beauty.
As my thoughts currently sit, I just don't see how art can be subjective. It must be objective, somehow.
Art is not subjective.
It can't be.