difficulties of artists

As i was reading the Metapictures chapter about picture theory, i was reminded of the painting classes i had taken in Community college and of the difficulties artists have in creating their artwork. the author of the chapter was telling his interpretations and the interpretations of others about a comic of the Egyptian art class, when i was reminded of my past experiences in art. the difficulty faced by most artists is trying to find a subject matter that is not cliche and that can be interpreted as what you truly mean. now, this may not seem difficult, but believe me it is. it is near impossible for an artist to get their point across, and only their point. if you ask anyone their opinion on a piece of work they will take their own interpretation of the work (this is why it is best never to show anyone any art work that has any particular meaning to you- the first lesson in painting) the interpretations reminded me of how difficult it actually is to send your message across only using art. i say art because even literature is up to interpretation. for instance, the poem "my father's waltz" can leave the reader with two opinions- that the author loved to have rough and tumble play with his loving father, or that his father was an abusive alcoholic- two very different opinions.
when the author was taking about the optical illusions, i couldn't help but think of Salvadore Dali. most of his paintings held some sort of hidden double picture. for instance, in the Hallucinogenic Torredor, a multitude of other pictures are hidden throughout the painting.Hallucinogenic Torredor: Can you see the matador? the bull? the dog?, etc. etc. these pictures show the skill of the artist, but tend to distract from the overall meaning (if there is one) of the painting. music and dance are also difficult to get meaning across, but i believe meaning gets through alot clearer, since the artist (the dancer, the actor, the musician) is usually present and is using their body language to further express what their movements and music cannot. Expressing emotion and meaning is possibly one of the most difficult aspects of life, but is near impossible to do with images.