Kant

First of all, Kant's quote "If we judge objects merely according to concepts, then all representation of beauty is lost (106)," immediately calls to mind a contrast with Plato's concepts of art. As we recently learned, Plato considered art to be three times removed from the "real", and along comes Kant claiming that beauty is nonexistent if judged by Plato's standards. Of course, not all art is beautiful, but since the goal of many artists is to represent things in beautiful ways, the direct contrast is worth examining.

And in regards to universal goals, I latched onto Kant's words: "It is of no consequence how [gratification] is attained, and since then the choice of means alone could make a difference, men could indeed blame one another for stupidity and indiscretion, but never for baseness and wickedness. For thus they all, according to his own way of seeing things, seek one goal, that is, gratification." (pg 99-100) I'll say it bluntly: B.S. Of course we can blame someone for their baseness or wickedness because wickedness stems from the choice that one makes to gain that gratification. I won't dwell on it... but this is me mentioning Hitler. So I do think that the choices someone makes about art, whether it be taste or what they're hanging in the livingroom, or keeping hidden in the garage, speaks to who they are or perceive themselves to be. Art is iconic in that without the messages behind it, it would be merely aesthetics.

Kant claims that once you become interested in something, you are no longer fit to judge its beauty. I disagree, proposing two scenarios:
1. I become interested in the art because it is beautiful. Just because I begin liking it, since humans are after all drawn to beauty, doesn't mean I can't determine whether it is beautiful. It is true that the bias may obscure or polarize my views like a mom's perception of her child, but that by itself doesn't make the determination wrong. Like any other critique of that nature, one person's view must be contrasted against a backdrop of others'.
2. I think the particular art is not beautiful but like it anyway. Sometimes a piece of art is hideous but likable because of what it represents. I personally didn't find all of Chris Jordan's art beautiful--for example, the airline plastic cups--but I did like the art and what it represented.

Kant insults my intelligence by suggesting that liking something pulls the wool over my eyes, and my perception and ideas about that thing skews any reasonable judgment about it.