AOK: The Arts

From the IB TOK Booklet:

How can the subjective viewpoint of an individual contribute to knowledge in the arts? On what basis can the merit of a work of art be judged? Is there any point in discussing the arts—should we not simply experience them? 

“The arts” is a collective term that encompasses the creative productions of humans and encompasses the visual arts, the performing arts and the literary arts. The arts explore the experience and reality of being human and are an essential element of culture. 

The arts could be thought of as creating a bridge between personal knowledge and shared knowledge. Many of them are collaborative. They use emotion as a currency to generate significance at a personal level but reason provides a restrictive framework necessary for the creation of meaning: artworks have their own inner logic. Some regard the arts as having an extra-artistic cognitive function, that they have a message about man’s place in the world which might have social or political implications. For example, there might be a case for supposing that the arts have an important function as a medium for social criticism and transformation. In any case, there is a widespread belief that the arts have a higher purpose to educate by encouraging introspection and sometimes making us think about how we should live our lives. 

What is Beauty?

Possible Questions:

1. How are value judgements in the arts justified? How is 'good art' recognized or decided on?

2. What knowledge of Art can be gained by focusing on the reader or audience’s response?

3. What knowledge of Art can be gained by focusing attention on it’s social, cultural or historical context?

4. To what extent do the classification systems (labels and categories) adopted in the pursuit of knowledge affect the knowledge we obtain?

5. Does the artist carry any moral or ethical responsibility? Is it possible for an artwork to be immoral? Should art be judged on its ability to shock?

6. What knowledge of art can be gained by focusing on the reader or audience's response?

7. What knowledge of art can be gained by focusing attention on its social, cultural or historical context?

8. To what extent do the classification systems (labels and categories) adopted in the pursuit of knowledge affect the knowledge we obtain?

BSJ TOK and the Arts webpage