The reason why art is so commonly misunderstood is because it is naively taken to represent an answer to something that only its maker really knows, when in fact artworks are questions posed and adequations mooted, soliciting engagement.

Preziosi, Donald. Brain of the Earth's Body. Art, Museums, and the Phantasms of Modernity. Minneapolis/London; University of Minnesota Press. 2003.
(p. 147)