Aesthetics

AESTHETICSPART TWO: DEFINING & JUDGING ART

DEFINING & JUDGING ART

• Defining Art• Objective• Approaches• Why Defining Art Matters

• Judging Art• Objective• Approaches• Why assessing Art Matters

THE ARTS & FINE ARTS

• Sean Le Rond D’Alenbert• Part One• Reflective Knowledge• Direct Ideas & Imitations• Painting, Sculpture & Architecture• Poetry• Music

THE ARTS & FINE ARTS

• Arts• Differentiation of the principal parts of knowledge.• Liberal & Mechanical Arts• Liberal Arts

• Knowledge• Knowledge• First Sort of Feeling• Second Sort of Feeling

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• David Hume• Language• Variety of taste• Language: art & science• Morality & Language• Example: Homer• Example: Koran• Precepts of ethics

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Standard of Taste• Standard of taste• Argument for the impossibility of a standard of

taste.• The nature of beauty• The axiom• Opposition to Axiom

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Rules & Criticism• Rules of composition a posteriori not a priori• Rules of art• Faults• Testing the Rules of Art• Endurance & Foreign appeal as measures of

influence

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Principles• General principle• Explanation of failures to please/displease• Delicacy from Don Quixote• Qualities in objects & delicacy of taste• Critics

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Ascertaining Delicacy of Taste• Intro• Practice• Multiple Perusals• Comparisons• Prejudice• Purpose• Reason

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Critics• Principles of taste• The True Standard• Problem• Aesthetics vs. the Sciences• Distinguishing people of taste• Time

THE PARADOX OF TASTE

• Factors• Two sources of variation• The general principles of taste are uniform in human nature• Age & qualities• Relativity• Age & Country• Ancient & modern learning• Morality & aesthetics• Moral principles• Religion

WHAT IS ART?

• Leo Tolstoy• Defining Beauty• Two definitions of beauty• No objective definition• Taste• Criticism of attempts to define taste• Criticism of existing aesthetics• Criticism of existing aesthetic standards

WHAT IS ART?

• Art, Pleasure & Beauty• Defining human activity• Pleasure & beauty• Food analogy• Food analogy continued: the problem of taking

beauty to be the aim of art• Problem with existing aesthetics: it is based on a

conception of beauty

WHAT IS ART?

• Union & The Activity of Art• Defining Art: words analogy• What is not art• Art & feeling• The feelings• All the following is art• Art

WHAT IS ART?

• What Art is Not• Definition of art & the activity of art• Art is not• Art is• Analogy to words• Importance of art• The scope of art

WHAT IS ART?

• Art & Counterfeit Art• Banishing & over acceptance• Distinguishing art from counterfeit art• The feeling & real art• Infection & art• Degree of infectiousness• Sincerity• Distinguishing art from counterfeit art

WHAT IS ART?

• Defining Good & Bad Art in Regards to Content• Objectives• Analogy to speech & quality of art• Art & religious perception• River analogy• Religious perception & value• Attack argument for religious perception• Progress argument for religious perception• Christian Art• Two kinds of Christian art

WHAT IS ART?

• Assessment of Specific Works• Examples of the highest art flowing from love of God

and Man• Examples of good universal art• Details• Novels• Music• Painting & Sculpture• Universal Pictures & Statues• Bad Painting

WHAT IS ART?

• Bad music & judging Beethoven• Judging

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OSCAR WILDE

• Background (1864-1900)• Life• Poetry• Plays• Prose

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NEW AESTHETICS

• First Part• Vivian

• Position• Mirror

• Cyril’s Challenge to Vivian• Nature & life imitate art

• Vivian’s Case• Nature & Art

• Change in London’s climate is due to a school of art.• Nature is our creation

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NEW AESTHETICS• Looking & Seeing

• Things are because we see them.• Looking is different from seeing.• One does not see anything until one sees its beauty• Example: fog

• Nature’s Imitation of Art• Effects• Nature

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NEW AESTHETICS• What Art Expresses• Cyril

• Temper of its age• Spirit of its time• Moral & social conditions

• Vivian• Art never expresses anything but itself• Vanity• Art is not symbolic of any age

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NEW AESTHETICS• Imitative Art• Vivian

• The more imitative art is, the less it represents the spirit of the age.

• The more abstract & ideal, the more it represents the spirit of the age.

• Cyril• The spirit of the age.• Arts of imitation reveal the spirit of the age.

• Vivian: Middle Ages• Imitative arts• Middle Ages• No great artist ever sees things as they really are.

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NEW AESTHETICS

• Vivian: Japan• Japanese people as presented in art do not exist.• See a Japanese effect

• Vivian: Ancient Greeks• Greek art• Art has never told us the truth

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NEW AESTHETICS• Vivian: Doctrines of the New Aesthetics• First Doctrine: Art never expresses anything but

itself• To pass from the art of a time to the time itself is the

great mistake all historians make.• Second Doctrine: All bad art comes from returning

to Life and Nature and elevating them into ideals.• Realism is a complete failure• Avoid modernity• The only beautiful things

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NEW AESTHETICS

• Third Doctrine: Life Imitates Art for more than Art imitates life.• Fourth Doctrine: Lying, the telling of beautiful

untrue things, is the proper aim of art.