Plenty of people with “visual literacy” can still think the justifications given in commentaries, documentaries, and interviews (along with close viewings) are still hollow.
Of course they can. Nobody is correct all the time. Only the artist who knew their intentions from the start will have a concrete answer but even that can be contradicting as some artists work through intuition more than logic. However when enough evidence on the contrary to what the viewer thinks adds up it might be time to notice.