Aesthetics

The philosophical study of art

What is art?

What distinguishes Art from Non-art?1. Intentions2. Intrinsic qualities3. Response of spectators4. Other points

– The aesthetic point of view.– Survivability.– Expert opinion.– Art is what is found in galleries.

Subjective versus Objective

• Are all interpretations of equal value?

• Expert opinion and the importance of evidence– Educating one’s taste – learning to see

differently

Functions of arts

• Art as mimesis.– Since seeing itself is a creative process, art

cannot simply imitate. Art does not so much imitate as reconstruct experience.

• Art as language of emotions.– E.g. love. Extending experience and opening up

new interpretations. The great writer puts into words what we feel we had thought all along, but never had words for.

Connections

• Art and language

• Art and science

• Art and history

• Art and politics

• Art, morality, religion and truth

Do the arts contain a system of knowledge?

• Music!

• Painting!

• Sculpture! 

• Theatre!

• Literature!

The story of art

• E. H. Gombridge– The history of arts– The knowledge of arts throughout history

Analyzing art?

• Some concepts to use as tools for analyzing the subject– The world (in it self)– Mind– Perception– Representations of the world

• Art is in some way a representation of the world!

Emotions ?

• Was Arthur Conan Doyle expressing his feelings when he wrote Sherlock Holmes?

• Is music an expression of feelings?

Music

• Music has no natural causes, it is culturally made up!

• Music is not an expression of feelings

• The reason of why music is meaningful is?• EMOTIONS

• Music is a language game. (Wittgenstein)

• Music is a mystery

Literature

• Virtual reality:– Books (Sherlock Holmes, Independent people)

– Computer games

– Narrative– Corresponds to the real world!– Psychological/socio-psychological experiment

• Emil Zola, Laxness, examining how people do in extreme situations

– Links to physics, experimental science?

Before 20th Century art was a mean for some other purpose.

Now art for its own sake!

Rembrandt

Van Gogh-The-Starry-Night

Picasso

Jóhannes S. Kjarval (1885-1972)Swan Song, 1956-66Olía/Oil , 157 x 134 cm

KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON

Tært útsýni ofan við svart málverk, 1999