Art is Useless

     In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde seems to believe that art is just a form of expression. But He states that "To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.".  I believe he means is that if you put too much of yourself in something and it gets criticized it will be like you are getting criticized. "All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril." Wilde is stating that everyone should take art for what it is. They should not dissect it to the point of where it cannot be enjoyed. "It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.", Wilde is saying that overall, when it comes down to it, you could paint the most beautiful picture in the world, but if someone does not enjoy it its not a bad painting. It is their perception of the painting that is wrong. "The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely." what Wilde believes that even though art has no functionality, it can be marveled at without being "useful".  Because in the end, "All art is quite useless."