One of the greatest aspects of Modernist art is not having a correct answer; everything is subjective and the artist has so much freedom. Whatever the artist portrays does not necessarily have to be what the artist intends to demonstrate. For example in the Marla Olmstead video “My Kid Could Paint That,” there was a man who thought the piece of art contained a door in the corner with people walking through it. At first glance, I saw a red blob within a blue circle in the corner of the painting, not something representing a door. The fact that Marla was only a toddler and produced such unique art, really showed that Modernist art is abstract. Being four years old, Marla hadn't experienced what a professional artist might encounter in life such as war or hardship. She was only having fun, but she was still able to connect with the people who have been through thick and thin and they were able to see a shinning light within her paintings. The best thing about art is its capability to connect with others and display a story that might not be able to be understood through other mediums. The absence of words lets people think about what they want the art to say while prose generally blatantly tells people what to think. Modern art has characteristics that allows the artist to express his/herself freely without focusing on how manly the workers look or straight the woman’s posture is. Marla represented this perfectly. She worked deliberately and was even intimidated by cameras. When people feel like they are being watched, it's uncomfortable and they are unable to perform at their highest abilities, especially with art. Personally, when I am playing violin for my own enjoyment, I do not want anyone watching me. While I’m perfectly capable of performing for people, my connection with the music isn’t the same as when I’m playing alone. Likewise, when Marla was filmed, she simple mixed paint together with her hands and made a mess, but when she didn’t know there was a camera, she was able to create a beautiful piece of abstract art.

There seems to be controversy with the statement ”All art is in someway a lie.” I find this wrong, but I can see where someone would agree with the phrase. Art is open to interpretation; therefore, modern artists don’t wake up and say ”today I’m going to make hidden features within my painting that nobody will be able to recognize.” Modern artists simply paint what they want and allow the public to make their own interpretations about meaning. Because each person has his or her own perspective, what the art truly symbolizes may never be known. With all of the conflicting perspectives, it’s hard to come to a consensus on what the art really means; therefore, it is not uncommon for people to thing that art is in someway a lie. Like Einstein said, ”true art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.” Marla had an irresistible urge to paint for fun in her pajamas and she never once was forced to meet the demand for her paintings to be sold, thus her art was real.