Art Needs Thought, Not Words

I've never understood those posters you see in malls of a photograph with a large word printed beneath them like Daybreak or Melancholy or some other doggerel. Why do we have to have someone else tell us what we should feel or see?

The great freedom of art is that we can make up our own minds as to what it means. It's as if the publisher or artist thinks we are stupid. Or maybe they recognize the laziness in people who don't want to spend the effort to think for themselves.

I often wonder if people are tricked into buying these abominations or if someone out there actually likes the big "my first artwork" type images. If someone likes the photograph I totally understand, but why does the art need a crutch?

I say avoid the jack boot word Nazis and either cut off the offending member or don't buy it in the first place. And to those artists out there who are tempted to lock our minds with iron manacles, if your art isn't strong enough on its own, there isn't a word in the dictionary that will be able to prop it up. And if it is strong enough, it doesn't need it.