Questioning Marxist aesthetics is essential to an understanding of the enlightenment movements. Art, in its nearly infinite forms, is the vehicle for knowledge of a subjective kind. Through visual, linguistic, audio, or dance any number of messages and ideas may be conveyed, and these ideas may then be interoperated. The aesthetic form is what constitutes good or great art. It puts forth a structure by which one can judge a piece beyond the mere technical skill that is presented in it, though that is an important issue. The aesthetic form puts forth the notion that art sublimates reality, creating another reality that brings into question this one. Creating this fictional reality is the responsibility of art. According to Marcuse “renunciation of the aesthetic form is abdication …show more content…
of responsibility. It deprives art of the very form in which it can create that other reality within the established one-the cosmos of hope.”. In this critique of Marxist aesthetics, the vast limitations of Marxist aesthetics is revealed The aesthetic form, as described in Marcuse’s The Aesthetic Dimension, expands upon his critique of Marxist aesthetics.
The aesthetic form may be “tentatively define[d] as the result of the transformation of a given content (actual or historical, personal or social fact) into a self-contained whole,”. Art, when created in accordance to the aesthetic form, is the channeling of an experience into a subjective format, i.e. a novel, a painting, a piece of music, or any of the many different art forms. The reality of an event is translated into the chosen medium, and in this sublimation of the event, it is modified in accordance to the “demands of the art form” and the subjective perspective of the individual. The re-presentation of this event serves to “invoke the need for hope- a need rooted in the new consciousness embodied in the work of art”. When an event or object becomes the subject of a piece of art, it is necessarily changed according to the restrictions of the art form, artist, and veiwer. This change creates a new reality in where the event may take on a new meaning, thus challenging the original content of the event. This meaning is further influenced by subjectivity of the
piece. This fictional reality that art creates as a product of the aesthetic form creates tension between realities. The reality presented in a piece of art (Marcuse uses the art form of novel in his explanation) is polarized, characters act with fewer inhibitions, with more obvious motives with in this fictional reality. This realty is a legitimist as the reality being experienced in the ‘real world’. It holds as much, if not more, truth as the one that we experience every day. Marcuse writes As fictitious world, as illusion (Schein), it contains more truth than does everyday reality. For the latter is mystified in its institutions and relationships, which make necessity into choice, and alienation into self realization. Only in the "illusory world" do things appear as what they are and what they can be. By virtue of this truth ( which art alone can express in sensuous representation) the world is inverted is the given reality, the ordinary world which now appears as untrue, as false, as deceptive reality This truth that may only be represented in art is the truth that is among the most valuable in society. The fictitious reality presents a counter narrative formed in a world wherein the structures that shape interaction are more transparent. In displaying these structures in the fictional world, the piece of art creates tension with reality. It raises awareness of the structures that shape interactions in this reality. The creation of this alternate reality must be autonomous. The tension created cannot be created without autonomy (why?, find evidence) Marcuse argues that Marxist aesthetics removes the responsibility of art by renouncing the Aesthetic form. Marxist aesthetics, according to Marcuse, does away with the aesthetic principle by placing all art within the context of class. By assigning a context by which all art must be interoperated in, Marxist aesthetics eliminates the aesthetic form from art. The various messages of a piece become irrelevant, “[i]deology becomes mere ideology, in spite of Engels's emphatic qualifications, and a devaluation of the entire realm of subjectivity takes place, a devaluation … [of] emotions, and imagination.”. Valuing art as only a vessel for messages concerning class is the “abdication of [the] responsibility” of art. It takes away the subjective experience that is essential to the aesthetic form, the experience that is born of the tension between reality and the counter narrative an art piece. By placing all art within the confines of class interpretation, Marxist aesthetics broadens the interpretation with subjective consciousness into class consciousness. This is damaging in that it devalues the importance of subjectivity and autonomy in art. These are essential to the aesthetic form and what it means.
The third and last concept which is the historical concept which refers to the possibility as being the “ideology of form,” in which “the ideas and manner of thinking characteristic of a group, social class, or individual form of a work tells the story”. The ideas and concept of the actions conducted...
The ‘unintelligible’ works of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Arnold Schoenberg or Paul Celan have prompted him to wonder how can such art “exert a claim upon us as powerful and as authorative as that of the classical or traditional works” In The Relevance of the Beautiful he says that the arrival of enigmatic art forms, such as abstract and conceptual art, atonal music and hermetic poetry has been a “genuine revolution.” The insisting presence of such works of art has inspired him to ask “how it comes about that the work addresses us.” Gadamer’s hermeneutic is concerned primarily with what it means to understand something whether it is another human being, an artwork or a natural phenomenon. Whereas the unintelligibility of so much of modern art has challenged the validity of the all encompassing hermeneutic understanding he has envisioned, the hold these art forms exerted on viewers have convinced him that they are indeed a communicative event of sorts. Moreover, their unintelligibility does not negate his notion that works of art are indeed a hermeneutic phenomenon. In a genuine, attentive, encounter with art, he suggests, something happens to the perceiver. The object of art addresses the world in its absolute ‘otherness’. It is an authentic event despite being
Since ancient times, the word artist has acquired different connotations. It has been quite an inquiry to define it, and even with the most meticulous meanings, the word still has kept its mysterious singularity to define the whole purpose of a man. Being an artist is more than just a philosophy, and the concept belongs to a vast range of abilities of self expression. It has been said, that one of the most common abilities is that of being able to reinterpret experiences, societal pressures, adversities during childhood, successes and failures, and translate them into a creative form attractive to others (Nguyen, 2011). This specific ability is directly associated with the uniqueness the artist will start to develop during his career, and also constitute an important part in their formation as a person as they will be able to open and expose themselves into the fierce criticism or affable acceptance of the rest of the world.
In choosing an artifact or a piece of art, several considerations come into mind. The MoMA, or the Museum of Modern Art, suffered a great financial crisis. This financial hiccup differentiated the ways in which the selection of new art and artifacts was to be chosen. The art or artifacts, for the MoMA, were to be financially aiding for the museum in order to keep it running (Source A). However, there are those in which the sole purpose for a museum is for educational purpose, in which the only consideration for choosing art would be that the art represents a positive outlook on education. The considerations, therefore, are ones which highly rely on the type of museum, person, and audience. It is with these factors that the most important considerations must be distinguished. Furthermore, museum’s main purpose is the presentation of a piece to an audience, and with this in mind, educational
All types of art have been around for many years, starting from 10,000 B.C. The meaning of art is a way for someone to express feelings, thoughts and sometimes used for entertainment. The oldest forms of art were commonly recognized in the form of drawings, paintings and sculptures. There have been discoveries of drawings in caves from the ice age era and inscriptions and paintings of legends in pyramids in Egypt. Other forms of art came with the discovery of music and plays. It wasn’t until later that another form of art came into the making from Europe. This form of art was known as magic lanterns, which was a number of various images placed in front of a light or flame. The light would cast a shadow of the image for the use of entertainment. After the invention of the camera a man named Eadweard put together an experiment to place 12 cameras around a horse race track. The cameras were placed at different locations closely together and snapped pictures as the horses ran by. The results were twelve different photos in sequence and by quickly moving the photographs it appeared like the horse was running. This was called motion photography. Like the magic lantern, the motion photography had the same concept when the images were projected on a large screen for an audience, thus, bringing us our first movies. Movies became a form of art because like a play, movies were a way for someone to express passion, love, humor and mystery for entertainment.
In the book “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger explains several essential aspects of art through the influence of the Marxism and art history that relate to social history and the sense of sight. Berger examines the dominance of ideologies in the history of traditional art and reflects on the history, class, and ideology as a field of cultural discourse, cultural consumption and cultural practice. Berger argues, “Realism is a powerful link to ownership and money through the dominance of power. ”(p.90)[1] The aesthetics of art and present historical methodology lack focus in comparison to the pictorial essay.
From the creation of art to its modern understanding, artists have strived to perform and perfect a photo realistic painting with the use of complex lines, blend of colors, and captivating subjects. This is not the case anymore due to the invention of the camera in 1827, since it will always be the ultimate form of realism. Due to this, artists had the opportunities to branch away from the classical formation of realism, and venture into new forms such as what is known today as modern art. In the examination of two well known artists, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, we can see that the artist doesn’t only intend for the painting to be just a painting, but more of a form of telling a scene through challenging thoughts, and expressing of the artists emotion in their creation.
Many ancient works of art represent political functions with different types of monuments and massive works of architecture. The political functions of ancient culture did have works of art. For instance, artistic styles, particularly in sculpture and painting, remained highly consistent with the ancient culture for many years. This consistency of architecture indicates levels of cultural and political stability that was strong enough to resist sudden changes in ancient cultures. Having the ability to build monumental structures indicates that ancient rulers were wealthy and powerful enough to mobilize the political structures, as well.
ABSTRACT: Ours is not the first time philosophers have looked to art for examples to illustrate their arguments. One example would be Kierkegaard, who turned to Mozart's operas in an attempt to expose what he called the aesthetic realm of existence. I hold that if Kierkegaard lived today, he would consider the main character of Nikita Mikhalkov's Dark Eyes (1987) as a prototype of the aesthetic way of existence. In order to support my thesis, I first discuss Kierkegaard's theory of the three spheres of existence. I look especially at what he considers to be the main feature of the aesthetic stage, as well as the figure of Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera. Second, I will look at the character of Romano Podroni in Dark Eyes. Finally, I will point out what makes these two characters prototypes of the aesthetic existence: the inhuman way in which they live the temporal dimension of human existence.
It is necessary to theorize our society critically if we are to have a vehicle for correctly informed transformative practice. The problem is that much of what is called critical theory today is rooted in ideas developed by Herbert Marcuse, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, and Georg Lukacs. What I want to argue here is that their work has tended to formulate a particular approach to aesthetic educationand a unique version of a philosophical humanismwhich is then presented as critical theoryagainst the debilitating fragmentation ...
Thesis: The French Revolution transformed not only the French society, but also had a huge influence and marked impact on what the purposes of the arts and their expression were now, making profound changes in what they would supposed to be used for, in the form of the Neoclassic works of art that made their appearance prior to the French Revolution, in which very special emphasis is given to the patriotic, the nationalist feeling, together with a strong sense of self-sacrifice that should be present in every person’s heart.
Aesthetics is the theoretical study of the arts and related types of behavior and experience. It is traditionally regarded as a branch of philosophy, concerned with the understanding of beauty and its manifestations in art and nature. However, in the latter 20th century there developed a tendency to treat it as an independent science, concerned with investigating the phenomena of art and its place in human life. Yet, what in a field with a hazy line in between being classified as a science or study of beliefs is considered data for determining what can be studied? It can simply be drawn to the only three things involved in the process of art : The creator, the person experiencing, and the art itself.
From Mark Twain to Vincent van Gogh, each genre of art comes with its greatest master. There are many compelling arguments to why this specific artist, musician or writer is the best in their category. In modern days, we don’t have a Mozart, or a Hemingway or even an Andy Warhol. There are many good artists of their own kind and many more are emerging thanks to new technology and new forms of media art. However, many arguments are made as to why these forms of art aren’t considered true forms of art. A few years back and even today, many argue that digital paintings aren’t real art so it is not surprising when people don’t think of a video game as an art form, but it is. The world is at constant change and so is art.
Contemporary art is produced at the present period in time, which it mainly refers to the meaning of the spirit, and have a modern art Modern language. When people are faced with a work of art, there is a complex judgment or intuition feeling which to consider about it has artistic value or not. Exposure of today's artists and cultural environment and in the face of today's reality, their work will inevitably reflect the characteristics of today. “A work of art is a tautology in that it is a presentation of the artist’s intention, that is, he is saying that a particular work of art is art, which means, is a definition of art” (Diarmuid Costello, Jonathan Vickery, pg.22, 2007). Artistic inheritance is a historical necessity of any art is constantly successor of the previous generation of art. Development of contemporary art can be said to follow the human development and growth. Of course, no matter what kind of art form, and they reflect the performance of all modern social changes which to bring the social and psychological characteristics to show the artist's exploration of artistic expression.
Interior design is a complicated profession. It is sometimes referred to as interior architecture and often confused with interior decorating. It involves the design, organization and planning of an interior structure rather than just refinishing and furnishing existing interior spaces. It involves managing a business, hopefully meeting the desires of the client and delivering to them an interior environment that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. There is a lot more to interior design than first meets the eye.