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Thus far I have spoken quite extensively about how art is perceived or not, judged, and received. For my final segment I would like to discuss a different facet of art: the process of artistic creation itself. There are two theories I will discuss, Cognition Theory and Expression Theory, both of which are explained by author of Principles of Art R.G. Collingwood. When you listen to this final piece, try to envision what composer Claude Debussy was thinking and or feeling when he wrote "Nuit d'Etoiles."
"Nuit d'Etoiles" is a piece by Claude Debussy written in 1880 during the Romantic Era. "Nuit d'Etoiles" is a fine example of Romanticism in music because it demonstrates the qualities that characterized that time, namely an emphasis on extreme emotions, magical or fantastical feelings, and a fair bit of poetic drama. Poet Théodore de Banville wrote "Nuit d'Etoiles" with these sentiments in mind. He is describing himself thinking of bygone loves while describing intense sensory experiences such as sighing breezes and sweet perfumes. In fact, when Debussy sets this text to music, it almost feels as though he has simultaneously set Van Gogh's impressionist painting Starry Night to music as well. In a word, Romanticism was all about expression. Philosopher R.G. Collingwood supports this notion when he describes Expression Theory: the theory that art is simply expressing internal emotions into external entities. In fact, Collingwood even asserts that through art do artists channel a surge of feelings into emotion they can define. Expression is a process of identifying what exactly we may be feeling. Thus, it is easy to draw a connection between Expression Theory and Romantic Era music like Debussy's "Nuit d'Etoiles" as both are primarily about expressing emotions.
In contrast, Collingwood also discusses Cognition Theory. This theory states that art is about thought instead of feelings. Cognition Theory would further consider art to be a process of thinking about and then sharing ideas. These ideas are often what form what many consider to be the meaning of the artwork. Collingwood does not say that art is thinking, but rather about thinking. Art as a means of communicating what is thought is thus the foundation for Cognition Theory. Justification for art explained in terms of Cognition Theory might be sought in sacred music. Sacred music is about the message of the texts, often sacred themselves. While certainly there is a great deal of emotion that comes with the message of sacred music—a point of criticism for Cognition Theory—the meaning of sacred music is far more about the ideas and thoughts seen in the texts than about these feelings that come as a result of feeling the impact of such messages.
Thus to conclude, both Expression Theory and Cognition Theory bear some truths about the nature of art, but I am inclined to think that art is more often a combination of the two than just one or the other.