What we think of any piece of art (or life for that matter), is filtered through the lens of our experience up to that point in time. Although this seems to be obvious and makes perfect sense on face value, it’s not always so apparent when it is actually happening.
This has several ramifications…
First, great art will continue to reveal different meanings as we age through life. Something you loved when you were young may reveal completely different truths when you are older, simply because you hadn’t experienced enough the first time to truly understand the depth.
But this phenomenon also suggests that something you didn’t get at one point in your life can be transformative when you look at it later. This is probably one of the reasons why advice from older people seems so useless when you are young. You literally haven’t lived enough yet to understand what the older person is talking about.
It’s something to bear in mind when revisiting art again – and yet another reason to always remain flexible in your thinking. You’re not always right the first time…