Art and Interpretation — How Explanation Shapes the Encounter

In late April 2026, a new work by Banksy appeared overnight in central London. The sculpture shows a suited figure stepping forward from a plinth while a large flag obscures his face. Banksy later confirmed the work through his Instagram account.

Banksy’s work often operates through sudden public appearance. Images of the new sculpture circulated quickly, and interpretations followed. The figure was linked to nationalism, political leadership, and blind patriotism. Within a short period, the work had already been placed inside public debate.

This is part of how Banksy’s work functions. It appears in public space, circulates through images, and quickly becomes part of a wider discussion. But that same process can also narrow the encounter. The more the work is explained, shared, and interpreted, the harder it becomes to experience its physical presence, atmosphere, and visual effect on their own terms.

The Human Need for Structure

Faced with ambiguity, human perception naturally seeks resolution. Visual elements are translated into language and connected to familiar ideas, stories, or positions. This gives the experience structure and makes it easier to describe, share, and discuss.

This process is useful. It allows an artwork to enter public conversation. But it also changes how the work is encountered. Once a dominant interpretation forms, later engagement is often filtered through that lens. The experience of the work can become shaped by the narrative attached to it, rather than remaining open on its own terms.

Art Before Explanation

In aesthetic theory, art is often understood as something that does not need explanation in order to function. The object, image, or environment acts on the viewer before it is translated into language. It holds attention and creates an impression first.

Immanuel Kant argued that aesthetic experience is not governed by a fixed concept. It involves a free play between imagination and understanding, where the mind remains active without reducing the work to a single meaning. The viewer can engage the work before needing to define what it is.

John Dewey approached art from the side of experience. In Art as Experience, he argued that art is not only an object that contains meaning. It is something that happens through the interaction between the work, the viewer, and the surrounding environment. What matters is not only what the work says, but what it does while it is being experienced.

Susan Sontag criticised the habit of turning art into content. Instead of staying with the work, viewers often ask what it means, what message it carries, or what position it represents. Interpretation then translates the work into something else — a code, a statement, or a political reading. The direct experience may become less central. The viewer spends less time with how the work looks, feels, and occupies attention, and more time trying to explain what it means.

Roland Barthes approached the issue from literary theory. In The Death of the Author, he argued that a text does not carry one fixed meaning secured by the writer. Once a work exists, its meaning is no longer limited to the creator’s intention. It develops through language, cultural references, and the reader’s encounter with it.

Taken together, these views describe art as an experience that cannot be reduced to explanation alone. A work may carry meaning, but it also operates through form, perception, context, and the viewer’s encounter with it.

How Context Shapes the Encounter

Aesthetic theory describes art as something that can act before it is explained. Psychology and neuroscience do not replace that argument, but they help explain why the encounter can be more than simple recognition.

Research in neuroaesthetics suggests that aesthetic experience involves several systems at once. Looking at art is not only a matter of identifying what is shown. It can involve visual processing, emotion, reward, memory, and personal association. The work is seen, but it is also felt, evaluated, remembered, and connected to the viewer’s own references. (1)

This is why explanation can matter. Studies on titles and contextual information show that words around an artwork can influence how it is processed and evaluated. A title, label, the name of the artist, or an explanation can guide attention, affect what the viewer notices, and shape how the work is experienced. Context is not neutral. It becomes part of the encounter. (2)

That does not mean interpretation is harmful. It means interpretation has force. It can open a work, but it can also guide the viewer toward a narrower path. When explanation arrives first, the viewer may look through the explanation rather than staying longer with the object itself.

Art, Meaning, and the Space Between

Banksy’s new sculpture shows how quickly a work can become public language. It appeared suddenly, moved through images and headlines, and was quickly surrounded by interpretation. The figure was read through politics, symbols, and public debate.

That process gives the work a social life. It allows people to discuss it, share it, and place it inside wider events. But aesthetic theory also points to another part of the encounter. A work does not need to be fixed into one meaning in order to function. It can hold attention, create atmosphere, produce tension, or leave an impression before it becomes a statement.

Research in neuroaesthetics supports this broader view of the encounter. Looking at art is not only recognition. It can involve emotion, memory, reward, and personal association. Research on titles and contextual information also shows that words around an artwork can shape how it is perceived and experienced.

References

(1) Semir Zeki, Inner Vision: An Exploration of Art and the Brain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 10–11; Anjan Chatterjee and Oshin Vartanian, “Neuroaesthetics,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 18, no. 7 (2014): 370.

(2) Katherine M. Darda and Anjan Chatterjee, “The impact of contextual information on aesthetic engagement of artworks,” Scientific Reports, 2023.