Aesthetics: “What is the art?”

Aesthetics definedThe branch of philosophy dealing with

beauty and taste (emphasizing the evaluative criteria that are applied to art); "traditional aesthetics assumed the existence of universal and timeless criteria of artistic value"

http://www.dictionary.co.uk

Internet Encyclopedia of philosophy:Discusses the theory of knowledge (Epistemology) and knowledge through

Art

Plato:

• Artists mislead their viewers into thinking that knowledge lies in the represented (mimetic) object.

• They move us emotionally in such a way that one’s character could be corrupted.

Aristotle:

• Aristotle agreed with Plato that art could indeed influence the development of one’s moral character.

• But that can be beneficial as it purges the tragic emotions.

Aesthetics: Philosophy of Art

• Plato: art imitates reality. By focusing on mere appearances, art distracts us from the truth and appeals to socially destructive emotions. It provides no real knowledge and undermines personal and social well-being

• Aristotle: art does not imitate particular things; rather it identifies universal ideals and values. It also purges us of our erotic and aggressive passions (catharsis)

The recurrent theme is that the knowledge gained is a representation, that it is mimetic.

There is also an assumption that there are share values apparent in the non-material (virtual) world where emotion and consciousness preside.

Problems are found in passing knowledge through Art because in the case of representing a character:

• The artist may not understand the character they are representing.

• An artist’s subject could be from a novel, based on a poem. Does the author of the novel understand the character in the poem, let alone the artist understand the character in the novel in the novel?

• What effect does the reader/audience have on interpreting the outcome?

Other Views of Art

• Romanticism: art expresses or evokes feelings: it embodies the creativity of reality by expressing emotions

• Art as form: the significance of a work depends on the form or order of its parts.

– Abstract art develops aesthetic sensibilities

– The “disinterested” pleasure of experiencing such order is the experience of beauty

B. Croce

Clive Bell

Still Other Views of Art

• Institutional theory of art: the designation of something as art is based on decisions by the artworld (George Dickie)

• The End of Art: conceptual art (e.g., by Marcel Duchamp) is less concerned now with representation or expression as it is with questioning what art itself is

Arthur Danto