For many visual arts patrons, looking at art they don’t understand seems pointless and makes them feel ... well, stupid. Perplexed, they walk away muttering "I don't get it." Well, guess what? It's okay if you don't get it. If it impresses you at all, even negatively, then it has challenged you in some way, and that's what art should do. Everyone loves potato chips -- instant gratification. But it takes time to appreciate the artichoke -- scraping each leaf of its sweet and tender meat with your teeth to finally arrive at the prize, the heart. Perhaps all that is needed to appreciate conceptual or minimal art is more time. In today's high tech world of cell phones, on-line living, cyber sites, sound bytes, and little leisure time, people find it hard to truly invest their time and mental energy in art that doesn't speak to them right away. But taking the time can be worth it. And what could end up happening, as with any complex relationship, is a lifelong love and appreciation of what is curious and unfamiliar.

On view at the University Museum of Contemporary Art through December 15 is a sight and sound installation, Black (Red), by German sculptor, Rolf Julius. The exhibition features musical pieces that comprise natural and electronic sounds which Julius records, processes and shapes in subtle compositions. These compositions are delivered through diminutive speakers and bowls placed around the gallery. The artist's appreciation of simplicity and the modest elegance that accompanies such an attitude is also evident in his ink drawings, on display as accompaniment to the music.

Spotlight wanted to find out from Julius just how he wanted people to approach his work.

Spotlight: How do you want people to look at your work?

Julius: Basically, people should see and hear the space. Perhaps try to discover familiar territory within the unfamiliar. Musical forms are familiar to most people, as are visual forms like sculpture or painting. This installation combines music and visual forms and the combination creates something new. As an artist I don't want to make you understand in a particular way. If the piece is good, your own sensibilities will make it happen.

How important is sound to each of these pieces?

The sound has a profound relationship to each piece. In fact, it helps to look at the piece to hear it better. I once placed a sculpture that was a pane of glass on a speaker in amongst some fallen leaves of many colors. To look at the many colors of auburn, red, orange and yellow and to hear the music made so much sense. But when I came back that evening in the dark and I could not see the piece, I could not hear the music as well. So there's a profound relationship between the visual component and the quality of sound. I want to give the viewer a reason to look and a reason to listen. In my piece "Why Yellow and Green," I like the movement from the two vibrating black speakers containing black pigment, which leads to the three rice bowls with lids that are still and yet emanate low droning tones, to finally the three white bowls that are filled with the colors of yellow, green, and white that are silent. It's as if the piece is set free at that point.

I know that John Cage is one of your many musical inspirations but the music that emanates from the speakers also reminds me of the meditative drone of a mantra. Does Zen enter into your work?

Not really. I am not a practicing Buddhist. However, a friend of mine who is a Buddhist says that Zen can be in all things and so it could be here as well. I guess you could say that this is very much like a garden and the minimal shapes that are complemented by sparseness and emptiness can place one in that Zen mindfulness. Again, it depends on your sensibility and experience.

What do you say to people who don't understand your installations?

I tell them to get up close and they'll understand. An installation such as this is not like a two-dimensional work on a wall that allows a certain amount of passivity on the part of the viewer. But with an installation, understanding is a process that takes time and the viewer must be willing to participate. If they are impressed and they like it, that's fine. And if they are bothered by it, that's fine too. As with any relationship, there's a lot of give and take that is required of the viewer.

University Museum of Contemporary Art Director Betsy Siersma commented that when a couple of children came to the exhibit's opening, they were totally open and non-linear in their approach. They smelled the pieces, got up close, and were totally delighted. They were not put off by the unfamiliar. Children generally aren't.

If you allow your level of curiosity to be open, then you will be rewarded.