"Aesthetics: Causing The Big Questions"

When first starting to read the assigned reading, I could not help feeling somewhat overwhelmed. I have never thought of art in a philosophical matter, actually I would never have associated the philosophies of Plato and Socrates with a Van Gogh or Picasso until reading the chapters.

The way that I interpreted what John Dewey was saying at the very beginning of The Live Creature was how difficult it was for people who deal with the connection of philosophy and art. I can definitely agree. I had no idea what aesthetics was until the first day of class and am still having a hard time grasping what some of the writers are saying in the readings.

In the section written by Arthur C. Danto, he explains the theories of Hamlet and Socrates and their views on reflective surfaces and the connection it shares with art. Socrates is said to have associated mirrors with the reflection of what we already can see therefore making art a reflection of what everyone sees in everyday life. For example, a still-life painting of fruit on a table is merely an accurate depiction of what the painter sees when he looks at the table of fruit. He then goes on to describe different theories that are used to determine whether something can be considered a piece of artwork. Danto explains the initial theory of art, the Imitation Theory of Art. The theory later evolves to incorporate more art that was previously considered inept that would merely be described as hoaxes or a madman's imagination on paper. The RT theory was also explained by Roger Fry as something that was "not an illusion but reality." It allowed a whole new way of thinking about paintings.

I liked how it goes into exactly what makes art. I think everyone has a different perspective on what actually is art. On page 41, Danto talks about how someone could collect a bunch or ready made objects, he uses Brillo pad cartons as an example, and arrange it in a certain way and call it art. To one critic or person this could be considered genius but to another it could simply just be a bunch of Brillo pads stuck together requiring no creative talent or thought.

In Plato’s Republic he describes how there are certain fundamentals of, in their case, building and founding a city. He says that there are certain roles that are always represented in the same ways whether in an epic, lyric, or tragedy. Plato uses a god. If you think about it, there are certain things that people portray in a certain way in art. Society tends to have a certain image and idea of how certain people and objects should be portrayed.

Overall, I found this first reading to be somewhat confusing and hard to understand. I think that it is just going to take some time for me to grasp the concept of aesthetics and how it applies to the art world.

Questions:
What is aesthetics?

How do Socrates’ and Plato’s theories reflect different concepts of art?

What are the different qualities of the IT and RT theories explained by Danto? (page 42)

How can you apply the theories to a modern piece of art? (pages 34 and 35)