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© Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosoph y.co.uk

© Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing [email protected]

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Page 1: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

© Michael Lacewing

Representation

Michael [email protected]

.uk

Page 2: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

Constable, The Hay Wain (1821)

Page 3: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

Some basics

• We often praise a work for its likeness to life.

• Paintings represent objects so we can see the object in the painting.

• If we can’t, the painting often loses its point, e.g. portraits, or fails as a painting.

Page 4: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

Heda, Still Life with a Lobster (1650-9)

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Further points

• Artists and actors spend years developing techniques for realism.

• Resemblance to life also explains why some subjects are ‘off-limits’ for art, e.g. the Holocaust.

Page 6: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

How does art represent reality?

• Plato: what is fully Real are the Forms; physical objects are copies of the Forms; art copies or imitates physical objects

• Obj: art is not an imitation, nor do pictures try to get us to confuse art with reality

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Pere Borrell del Caso, Escaping Criticism (1874)

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Copying

• Nor does art literally copy reality, e.g. when there is no reality to copy, but the artist makes it up as they go

• And the value of art is not judged by how exact a copy it is

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Vernet, A Landscape at Sunset

(1773)

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Turner, The Scarlet Sunset (1830-40)

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Copying (cont.)

• If art was copying, wouldn’t photographs be better than paintings?

• A good forgery is a good copy, but not good art.

• What about dance, music, literature? Nothing is being copied…

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Representation

• So if art does represent reality, this cannot be understood as imitation or copying.

• We could still argue that good art represents ‘authentically’

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Picasso, The Three Dancers (1925)

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Appel Untitled (1960)

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Newman, New Adam (1951-2)

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Representation (cont.)

• If nothing is represented, then nothing is represented ‘authentically’

• Not only painting, but music• Is an emotion represented?

– Not represented, but perhaps expressed

Page 17: © Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk

The value of art

• Do we value art because it informs us?• Plato: art is not valuable, because we

learn more from reality• A forgery informs us as much as the

original• We may value art as a representation

– But the value here is not information, but imagination and skill

• Our response to art is not so intellectual