Simple and Complex

I have been working on a paper recently for Teaching Artist Journal and the basis of my article is how I like my units to be simplex yet complex. In other words, the curriculum should be deep and rigorous, but the flow of the unit should be easy to understand. As I thought more about this, I realized that a lot of the artowrk I really like is simple and complex. In other words, the work seems effortless when you look at it, but when you look at it longer, there seems to be a lot going on behind the surface or it looks like a lot of work went into completing it. Now, I know why I do not like a lot of conceptual or “high” art. When I see very conceptual artwork, it always seems too complex. A lot of it is not aesthetically pleasing and it asks too much of the viewer to try to figure out and reconcile. Nothing really grabs you. On the flip side, you can tell when an artwork is too simple. It might look nice but it feels like no thought or sweat went into the production. It is just something with pretty colors that makes you look at it…and then move on. Anyway, I like figuring out stuff like this…