To get the most out of your visits to the local museum or art gallery, learn to understand the language of art to find out what the artist is trying to communicate. Art appreciation allows you to have an informed opinion about works of art. It doesn’t mean you have to like all of them, but hopefully see them in a new light.
It may seem obvious, but the title of the work can tell you what the artist wanted to describe by creating the art work. Sometimes the title will be obvious, but sometimes it may seem to bear little resemblance to the finished object. In this case, look for some similarity or connection that the artist found important enough to stress or exaggerate, and think about why the artist chose to isolate that particular feature of the subject or scene. Perhaps it sums up something important, distilling the subject down to what the artist feels to be its essence.