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

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.