A Philosophy of Art
The average person does not know that they have a philosophy of art until they are asked to state their philosophy. Often times, their philosophy of art is discovered through the eyes, ears, heart, and soul of a person who does not fully understand philosophy or art, but through some discovery, they can ascertain their philosophy of art. By understanding what art is, where it begins, making it real through the human experience and emotions, and forming an aesthetic opinion, one can develop a philosophy of art. This process will be explored fully in this paper.
As one begins to define their philosophy of art, they must begin by defining the words philosophy, art, and the phrase philosophy of art. The word philosophy means “love of wisdom,” (Kemerly). The word art can be harder to define. In his essay, “On Art,” Leo Tolstoy states, “I think it would be useful, first, to separate what really is art from what has no right to that name; and secondly, taking what is really art, to distinguish what is important and good from what is insignificant and bad,” (Tolstoy 1). He further suggests that the subject matter of the art should be something meaningful, imperative to mankind, favorable, righteous, and enlightening. He also states that art should be beautiful and interpret life as it really is. Using what Tolstoy reveals in his essay, a definition of art becomes clear. Art is a meaningful work that is beautiful, enlightening, motivational, helpful, and inspirational to mankind; it must also be true to reality. Philosophy of Art can then be defined. It is the study of how art is created, how art affects and relates to mankind, and how art makes a person feel. It is with this designation in mind that one can discover their personal philosophy of art.
R. G. Collingwood wrote that art begins in the mind of the artist. This is true. The artist gets an idea, whether from a divine source, the unconscious mind, or from the air. Collingwood suggests two theories as to where ideas come from. “The first alternative, that the artist’s activity is controlled by some divine or at least spiritual being that uses him as its mouthpiece…,” (Collingwood 1). He does submit that this notion is outdated, but it is worth listening to the theory. “The second alternative, that the artist’s work is controlled by forces which, though part of his mind, are not voluntary and not conscious, but work in some mental cellar unseen and unbidden by the dwellers in the house above…,” (1). He acknowledges that this theory is favored by psychologists more than by artists.
An artist first creates the work of art in their mind, creating what Collingwood calls an “imaginary thing.” He states that this is the true version of the work of art. He states, “A work of art may be completely created when it has been created as a thing whose only place is in the artist’s mind,” (3). In essence, he is saying that the artist does not have to publish the work that is in their head. They do not need to make it a “real thing.” In order for the work of art to be useful to mankind, the work of art must be made real and physical. It must exist in the real world for mankind to enjoy it. Art must be made and created using various raw materials available that will best portray what is in the artist’s mind. Martin Heidegger writes, “The nature of art would then be this: the truth of beings setting itself to work,” (Heidegger 3). The reality of the work of art is important. As the work of art is made physical and can be seen by others, it becomes a work of art that can help, inspire, and influence mankind. Its beauty can be seen and appreciated by all who view it. Heidegger writes, “Art is real in the art work,” (5). After a work of art is a physical entity, mankind can enjoy and appreciate it.
Most forms of art are visual. Most forms are seen through the eyes. Plotinus writes, “Beauty is mostly in sight, but is to be found too in things we hear, in combinations of words and also in music…” (Plotinus 1). Beauty is most often seen. Also, most of the beauty that man acknowledges is seen. Often, man sees beauty through the senses. The color palette of a work of art helps to show the beauty of the work of art. The shape and form of the work of art enhances the beauty of the work of art, as well. The melody of music produces the beauty that is heard in music. Plotinus illustrates this point when he writes, “the beauties in the realm of the sense, images and shadows which, so to speak, sally out and come into matter and adorn it and excite us when they appear,” (3).
Experiencing art leads to all kinds of discoveries that help, inspire, and influence mankind. A connection must be made between the viewer and the artwork. The viewer must have an experience when interacting with art. There must be a human experience; one for the artist, where they share what they experienced as they created the work, and one for the viewer where they share what the artist experienced and is trying to convey to the world. John Dewey, in his essay entitled “Art as Experience,” wrote “in order to understand the esthetic in its ultimate and approved forms, one must begin with it in the raw, in the events and scenes that hold the attentive eye and ear of man, arousing his interest and affording him enjoyment as he looks and listens,” (Dewey 2). One must have an experience with art to appreciate it fully. Without this experience, art is simply art for the sake of art. There is no relation to man, if there is no human experience. Man “senses” art. “Sense covers a wide range of contents. The sensory, the sensational, the sensitive, the sensible, and the sentimental, along with the sensuous,” (11). This sense encompasses many things such as physical reactions to emotional reactions. Each sense is experienced in a real way in life by mankind because life is experienced through mankind’s bodily senses, sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, along with other non-traditional senses, such as temperature, kinesthetic, and pain. These bodily senses lend themselves to mankind’s appreciation of art. “Art is thus prefigured in the very processes of living,” (13). Art shows mankind’s ability to use what he has available to him to create great works of art that will be beneficial to all of mankind. “Art is living and concrete proof that man is capable of restoring consciously, and thus on the plane of meanings, the union of sense, need, impulse, and action characteristic of the live creature. The intervention of consciousness adds regulation, power of selection, and redisposition. Thus it varies the arts in ways without end. But its intervention also leads in time to the idea of art as a conscious idea – the greatest achievement in the history of humanity,” (13). Using the senses, mankind can have an emotional experience with art.
The beginning of all practices of aesthetics is one’s personal experience with distinctive emotions. Works of art produce distinctive emotions. Each work of art produces a different emotion. The emotion produced by art is called “aesthetic emotion.” Aesthetic emotion is examined in Clive Bell’s essay entitled “The Aesthetic Hypothesis.” He writes, “There is a particular kind of emotion provoked by works of visual art, and that this emotion is provoked by every kind of visual art, by pictures, sculptures, buildings, pots, carvings, textiles, etc., etc., is not disputed, I think, by anyone capable of feeling it. This emotion is called the aesthetic emotion,” (Bell 2). The elements that provoke the aesthetic emotion are different with each person. “Aesthetic judgements are, as the saying goes, matters of tastes; and about tastes, as everyone is proud to admit, there is no disputing,” (2). Each individual must experience an emotion when viewing art; Bell suggests that it is an aesthetic emotion, whether there is such a thing as an aesthetic emotion or not, an emotion must be felt. There is no clear-cut definition of the aesthetic emotion other than it is an emotion that is felt while viewing art. This can be confusing and lead to a person feeling as if they possess no aesthetic judgment; but if that person experiences an emotion of any kind, it can be implied that they experienced an aesthetic emotion. As emotion is felt by viewing art, beauty is recognized by the soul.
Plotinus proposes that the soul comprehends, identifies, and receives beauty. The soul possesses the capacity to perceive beauty. The soul can perceive beauty because it is touched by beauty itself. While the soul recognizes beauty, it also recognizes ugliness. “But when it [the soul] encounters the ugly it shrinks back and rejects it and turns away from it and is out of tune and alienated from it,” (Plotinus 2). The soul of an individual is greatly affected by the beauty of art. Since one’s emotional nature lies in their soul, it stands to reason that their soul must be affected by art. The soul must be taught to see the beautiful aspects of life; then the soul must be taught how to see the beautiful works of art created by man. By learning to see beauty through the soul, a person can have an amazing human experience with art. Mankind can also begin to understand his aesthetic viewpoint.
Each individual possesses an aesthetic viewpoint. People must experience an aesthetic education to learn what aesthetics is as well as to discover their aesthetic viewpoint. Freidrich Schiller discussed man’s aesthetic education in his essay entitle “On the Aesthetic Education of Man (Letters 26 & 27).” He wanted mankind to use their feelings and emotions in their virtuous thinking through art and aesthetics. He believed that the “aesthetic mode of the psyche” granted humans a freedom to be moral (Schiller 1). This freedom to be moral could help an unpleasant person in their discovery of beauty. He concluded that beauty could not develop in a person deprived of feelings and emotions. “The germ of beauty is as little likely to develop where nature in her niggardliness deprives mankind of quickening refreshment, as where in her bounty she relieves him of any exertion – alike where sense is too blunted to feel any needs as where violence of appetite is denied satisfaction,” (1).
One’s aesthetic viewpoint is based on semblance, in particular, aesthetic semblance. Schiller writes, “It goes without saying that the only kind of semblance I am concerned with is aesthetic semblance (which we can distinguish from actuality and truth)… To attach value to semblance of the first kind [aesthetic semblance] can never be prejudicial to truth, because one is never in danger of substituting it for truth, which is after all the only way in which truth can ever be impaired,” (2). To disdain aesthetic semblance is to disapprove of fine arts all together. Fine art is at the heart of semblance. Mankind learns semblance from nature, through his eyes and ears, through the real world. As mankind learns from nature, they develop semblance, which helps them cultivate their aesthetic viewpoint. The more developed one’s viewpoint becomes, the more they appreciate and value art. A developed aesthetic viewpoint leads to one discovering their philosophy of art. Once a person has developed their philosophy of art, they can voice their opinion on art as well as judge art.
Philosophy of art, as defined in this paper is the study of how art is created, how art affects and relates to mankind, and how art makes a person feel. Art is helpful to mankind. Mankind needs art to help make the world a better place; therefore, artists, viewers of art, and critics are needed. Once a person develops their philosophy of art, they will be able to help expand man’s viewpoint of art and to broaden the transcendent affluence of humanity through their discussion of art.
Works Cited
Bell, A. Clive H. "The Aesthetic Hypothesis." Art. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1981. 15-34. Print.
Collingwood, Robin G. "Chap. 7." The Principles of Art. Oxford: Claredon, 1938. 125-52. Print.
Dewey, John. "Chap. 1-2." Art as Experience. New York: Perigree, 1980. 3-27. Print.
Heidegger, Martin. "The Origin of the Work of Art (Lectures 1 & 2)." Poetry, Language, Thought. Trans. A. Hofstader. New York: Harper, 1971. 32-48. Print.
Kemerling, Garth. "Philosophical Dictionary: Philia-Poincare." Philosophical Dictionary: Philia-Poincare. Garth Kemerling, 30 Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.
Plotinus. "Section 6." Enneads. Trans. A. H. Armstrong. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1996. 229-63. Print.
Schiller, J.C. Friedrich. "Letters 26-27." On the Aesthetic Education of Man. Trans. E. Wilkinson and L. Willoughby. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1967. 191-219. Print.
Tolstoy, Leo. "On Art." What is Art? and Essays on Art. Trans. A. Maude. London: Oxford UP, 1930. 46-61. Print.