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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? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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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 realityArtistic representations from the visual to the literal are merely copies of copies of perfect "Forms" from which all things ariseMoreover, Plato believed that arts inspire vice - arts excited appetites or inspired worthless fantasies
Plato and art
Art is psychologically destabilizingArt leads to immoralityArt 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 artAs in all great student/teacher relationships, Aristotle takes the exact opposite viewAristotle agreed that art was essentially mimesis however rejected Plato's idea of FormsSaw art, poetry and drama as having a valid place in our realityAristotle saw the arts as meaningful in that they represented human lifeMoreover, 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 ArtArt is natural; imitation is naturalEncourages imaginationEncourages 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 visum placet.
Consider the following paintings. Do you think they are beautiful?
THIS
ONE?
(A)
Or, THIS ONE? (B)
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 wholeTherefore, 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 enterpriseKant argued that there were inherent structures in the human mind that allows us to examine art intellectually rather than emotionallyThis 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 religionWe ought to do what is beautiful, not what is "obligatory"
Nietzsche and ArtTwo different sources of art - Apollonian and DionysianApollonian art centers on the orderly, beautiful, individual, rational and harmoniousDionysian art transcends the individual and absorbs that person in a frenzy (ie. music); it is largely amoral and not centred on traditional ethicsGreat art should have both Apollonian and Dionysian qualities
Art and Life?
Salvador DaliThe Persistence of Memory
Marx and Art
Marx felt the true function of art was social criticismMarxists view art as a revolutionary instrument; it helps people see what is wrong with their existing society and motivates them to make a changeBad art upholds the values of an existing society and aims at deceiving people into accepting those values.
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Viva brevis, Ars longa
What about music?
4 “33
Viva brevis, Ars longa
Representational?
Edouard Manet, Olympia
Morimura Yasumasa, Portrait
Is this art?
Rene Magritte, The Rape
What would the philosophers say?
Donald JuddUntitled
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.