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The Philosophy of Art. What the philosophers had to say. Mimetic theory of art. Art is fundamentally a mimesis ( representation) of nature Oldest theory of art. The Mimetic Theory of Art:. Problems: How does this handle music?, abstract art?
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The Philosophy of Art What the philosophers had to say
Mimetic theory of art • Art is fundamentally a mimesis (representation) of nature • Oldest theory of art
The Mimetic Theory of Art: • Problems: • How does this handle music?, abstract art? • What is “mimesis” exactly? (Imitation, mirroring, perceptual equivalence, counterfeiting, idealization, representation?) • If I say that the point of a picture is to capture the world exactly “as it really is,” what am I assuming?
Teacher vs Student (Plato and Aristotle) • Plato viewed the arts as at best useless at worst "dangerous" • According to Plato, artists deviated from providing a true picture of reality • Artistic representations from the visual to the literal are merely copies of copies of perfect "Forms" from which all things arise • Moreover, Plato believed that arts inspire vice - arts excited appetites or inspired worthless fantasies
Plato and art • Art is psychologically destabilizing • Art leads to immorality • Art can be politically dangerous (and therefore needs to be controlled by the governing class)
Plato's view on art • Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.
Aristotle's view on art • As in all great student/teacher relationships, Aristotle takes the exact opposite view • Aristotle agreed that art was essentially mimesis however rejected Plato's idea of Forms • Saw art, poetry and drama as having a valid place in our reality • Aristotle saw the arts as meaningful in that they represented human life • Moreover, the arts had the effect of catharsis or "release" by allowing us to experience our most disturbed emotions in a safe place (i.e. crying at a good movie)
Aristotle and Art • Art is natural; imitation is natural • Encourages imagination • Encourages truth (artists have to accurately portray nature) • “Organic Unity” – all parts must work together to form whole • Good art leads to morality and truth
Thomas Aquinas • Defined the beautiful as that which, being seen, pleases: • id quod visumplacet.
Consider the following paintings. Do you think they are beautiful?
TH I S ONE? (A)
If you picked A, you picked a master. If you picked B, you picked an amateur who likes the master.
What about taste? • David Hume believed that art appreciation is wholly subjective (each person judges for him/herself the value of the artwork) • However, this leads to problems in terms of judging the value of art to society as a whole • Therefore, Hume suggests that works of art should be judged by experts in the field; great masterpieces of art, music and literature are valid because they have been generally agreed upon through time
What about taste? • Immanuel Kant rejected the idea that taste was an individual enterprise • Kant argued that there were inherent structures in the human mind that allows us to examine art intellectually rather than emotionally • This state is known as "disinterest" and it allows all people to experience art from an aesthetic perspective free from personal experiences and preconceptions
Nietzsche and Art • Friedrich Nietzsche argues that aesthetic values should replace moral values. • Values of beauty and ugliness should be guidelines for action rather than formalized moral codes of conduct based on the God and religion • We ought to do what is beautiful, not what is "obligatory"
Nietzsche and Art • Two different sources of art - Apollonian and Dionysian • Apollonian art centers on the orderly, beautiful, individual, rational and harmonious • Dionysian art transcends the individual and absorbs that person in a frenzy (ie. music); it is largely amoral and not centred on traditional ethics • Great art should have both Apollonian and Dionysian qualities
Art and Life? • Salvador Dali The Persistence of Memory
Marx and Art • Marx felt the true function of art was social criticism • Marxists view art as a revolutionary instrument; it helps people see what is wrong with their existing society and motivates them to make a change • Bad art upholds the values of an existing society and aims at deceiving people into accepting those values.
What about music? • 4 “33
Representational? • Edouard Manet, Olympia • Morimura Yasumasa, Portrait
Is this art? • Rene Magritte, The Rape
What would the philosophers say? • Donald Judd Untitled
The following is Ai Wei Wei’s “Forever Bicycles” seen at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche. Compare the ideas of two different philosophers to discuss the value/benefits (or lack thereof) this piece of artwork.
