[Brian_K_White]

Like is the wrong word. I think the closest appropriate idea is "appreciate".

You probably should not "like" some of the best art at all, because it should have made you uncomfortable and think things you would rather not.

Of course I say "some", because art has all kinds of different purposes or intents, and that is only the purpose of some art, not all art.

So I think recognize, acknowledge, or appreciate are the kinds of words to apply rather than like.

And art can even be good even if you not only don't like it but don't even appreciate it. It can be skillfully effective on you whether or not you like it or even have the background or perception to recognize it's quality.

So even "appreciate" isn't really a valid metric.

[ritchiea]

It's perfectly reasonable to appreciate a piece of art, recognize its importance and subjectively dislike it. I believe it's going in the wrong direction to try to completely disconnect your subjective like or dislike of art in an effort to better understand or recognize its value. If anything I try to go the other direction and acknowledge my subjective like/dislike/etc sense experience and then intellectualize from there.

[pydry]

Ironically, the "white dot" type of art was popularized by CIA who poured money into cultural promotion following remarks by the USSR that the US was a culturally barren wasteland:

https://daily.jstor.org/was-modern-art-really-a-cia-psy-op/

[ritchiea]

The CIA backed American abstract expressionists, which is a different, more visually complex style of abstract painting that is distinct from minimalist abstract painting.