Art Appreciation is such a mystical skill! I would have never even remotely thought of OP's take upon reading a description of this art piece. I'm just not wired to come up with takeaways like that. When I hear about "weird" art project, my mind usually just thinks "Well, I guess that's just how this guy wanks" and I just don't seem to have the brain to divine the kind of stuff that OP wrote about!

I think you do have the brain, but maybe you're framing it wrong! When you come across art that seems unapproachable or strange to you, the last question you should ask is "What did the artist mean by this?" Instead, first think "What does this make me feel?" The answer may often be nothing, but then in the spirit of curiosity follow it up with "What might others who love this art be responding to?"

Sometimes for me, I need to take myself out of trying to "solve" the art piece and be intentional about viewing it with a different, less literal mindset. It's still me doing the thinking, but it kind of short-circuits my normal interaction with the world.

Or maybe that's just a bunch of blowhard bullshit, I don't know, but it is what I do.