Why does art matter? Amidst chaos and confusion in what have been characterized as post-truth world, art affords us a form of criticality. That is, to question things, to interrogate, indeed, not to accept things as they are. This means further an incisive reflection, interpretation and evaluation of various texts, ranging from poems, paintings, photographs, and performances. In the words of Edmund Feldman (1996:18), “the images we make do not end their lives on school corridor walls: they find their way into human minds, into the language of civic discourse, and into the building blocks of culture. And that is a matter for serious reflection.” Thus, an objective of this course is to equip you with the necessary critical lens of viewing the world, without negating the enchantment of art. In this module, you will revisit some of the ideas, concepts which you may have encountered in your previous education.
After working on this module, you should be able to:
What is art? Art as a concept, like culture, defies a singular definition. There have been attempts to define art, and the following enumeration is just some of the examples how art has been defined through time:
Allot 60 minutes
(The required resource for this activity is currently not available on MyPortal, so treat this activity as optional.)
To lay the ground, let us use Robert Stecker’s (2003) article, “Definition of Art.” Here, art is defined by various key concepts coming from different perspectives.
Outline the various definitions by taking into consideration the major concern of each key concept in relation to art, and at the same time, examine the limitations of each defining concept. The following are your guide questions:
1.
One key concept mentioned in the article is “representation,” and/or “imitation.” The Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, offered the concept of “mimesis” in dealing with poetry and performance. How do these concepts- representation, imitation and mimesis- define art?
Consider the Gustave Courbet painting “The Stonebreakers”; in what way that this work exemplifies mimesis or representation? What about your ‘selfie”? How would you characterize it?
2.
If art is defined as representation, does it take into account other art forms like instrumental music or the so-called abstract art, like the painting below by Wassily Kandinsky?
3.
Art as “expression.” Among the key concepts, this is likely the well-known dimension of art. You hear people say, “I paint (or dress) this way to express myself.” How does ‘expression’ relate to the artistic process, in general, or the artist, in particular? How does this compare with art as representation?
4.
If art is framed from a formalist perspective, how is it viewed or defined from this standpoint? In the article, the art historian Clive Bell mentioned the notion of “significant form,” what composes form, then. For example, consider the three art works below:
What similarities and differences do they share as to form? Is Bell’s characterization, applicable to all art forms, like folk arts, sculpture, architecture, and the like?
5.
If art is defined within the ambit of “aesthetics,” whether as “aesthetic object,” or “aesthetic experience,” how is art viewed from this perspective? Consider the photograph here. Is it art? Or is it nature? Is aesthetic experience possible in both art and nature? If yes, what do you look for if art if it is defined from an aesthetic dimension? Is there an overlap with art as formalism here?
6.
Following the influence of the philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, art as a concept eludes definition because it is “open-textured.” Instead, it is classified based on “family resemblances.” What does this mean vis-à-vis the definition of art? Hence, how is art viewed from an anti-essentialist framework?
7.
The article also highlighted the philosophy of two thinkers- Arthur Danto and George Dickie. How do the two scholars define art relative to these considerations: the role of the art world, the significance of interpretation and the view art of as artifact? In what way, they share similarities and differences?
8.
In 1917, the French artist Marcel Duchamp, known for his readymades, exhibited a urinal entitled, “The Fountain,” which he signed as R. Mutt. How does this ‘art work’ contribute to the definition of art?
9.
Hence, after Danto, Dickie and Duchamp, can any object become an art work? Is the board eraser you see in the classroom an art object? If we agree to say it is not, then, does it have a ‘chance’ to become an art work? How and why?
10.
What did the whole exercise teach you about art as a concept?
Often, our experience with art happens in the comforts of an air-conditioned gallery or theater, but through our engagement, we are brought to a world where we have not inhabited before. It could be a world of magic or mayhem. But what matters is after the experience, we are transformed. The effect may be subtle or palpable, but in reality, we are no longer the same person after viewing, watching, or reading the text. We have come to embody the experience of other people from various cultures or class, which, ultimately, enlarged our humanity. This transformative aspect of our art may be personal to you, such as the cathartic effect after watching a play or it may call to action on your part to, say, plant a tree or teach street kids in your neighborhood. This view finds resonance in the quote below from Ernst Fischer (1963:7-8):
Countless millions read books, listen to music, watch theatre, go to the cinema. Why? To say that they seek distraction, relaxation, entertainment is to beg the question. Why is it distracting, relaxing, entertaining to sink oneself in someone else’s life and problems, to identify oneself with a painting or a piece of music or with the characters in a novel, play, or film?... And if one answers that we want to escape from an unsatisfactory existence into a richer one, into an experience without risk, then the next question arises: why is our existence not enough…
Evidently, man (sic) wants to be more than just himself. He wants to be a whole man. He is not satisfied with being a separate individual … He longs to absorb the surrounding world and make it his own… to unite his limited “I” in art with a communal existence; to make his individuality social.
That said, let us not lose focus then how art matters not just on individual but more so on societal level, as well. Here, what comes to mind are works of art which are deeply ingrained in the community or the country’s way of life.
In this module, through the articles you read and the activities you accomplished, the focus had been on the nature and the necessity of art. Art matters precisely because through art we find something about the world and ourselves in the numerous texts we encounter and experience. More often it is an ‘experience without risk’, but transformative nonetheless; thus, change may come in the form of action or introspection. Further, the influence of various disciplines ranging from aesthetics, art history, and anthropology helped shape our understanding of art as a complex but compelling human phenomenon.
Hello. My name is Diego Maranan, and I was part of the team across the UP System that put together this course. This supplement to Module 1 is the first of several supplements that I've put together (and which I will continue to develop) for undergraduate students at UPOU.
What are these Module Supplements for? I created these Supplements for three reasons:
Let's begin this supplement with reflecting on your current relationship with the arts.
Allot 15 minutes
To begin with, and without consulting any external references, I would like you to consider the following two questions:
Feel free to interpret and respond to these questions however you want to. Discuss your answers with the class. If you have specific works of art that you can cite to help illustrate clarify your ideas, use them.
Sometimes, when trying to come to grips with the nature of art, it's more interesting to approach the question in other ways. Sometimes, it helps to look at the question of art obliquely. You might have defined it as art as a product—that is, something that you make. But there are other ways of looking at art. Consider these other questions instead:
You might find that the answers to many of these questions are addressed throughout the remainder of your course. What is important to note at this point is that instead of simply asking what art is, it might be more useful to approach the subject indirectly.
Allot 30 minutes
Read and reflect on the following:
As you go through the readings and watch the video, consider the following:
Allot 90 minutes
Feel free to read ahead in this Course Package and to use other resources other than the ones in this Course Package to help you with this activity.
Read Alice Guillermo’s “Preface”, as described in Activity 1.2.
In this special section of each module supplement, you are asked to reflect and elaborate on the role of the arts in the context of the extraordinarily difficult times that the COVID-19 outbreak has ushered in.
Consider the discussion in the module so far, and think about the challenges you are facing in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, such as the issues you worry about, the activities you look forward to, and the future in which you wish to live. What role does art play in your own life these days? Are you still engaged in anything that you would consider artistic? Has anything changed regarding your relationship to the arts or to artistic practices since the COVID-19 lockdowns began?
Required Readings
Optional Readings
Other Resources