Aesthetics

1. Aesthetics Part two: Defining & judging art

2. Defining & judging art • Defining Art • Objective • Approaches • Why Defining Art Matters • Judging Art • Objective • Approaches • Why assessing Art Matters

3. The arts & fine arts • Sean Le RondD’Alenbert • Part One • Reflective Knowledge • Direct Ideas & Imitations • Painting, Sculpture & Architecture • Poetry • Music

4. The arts & fine arts • Arts • Differentiation of the principal parts of knowledge. • Liberal & Mechanical Arts • Liberal Arts • Knowledge • Knowledge • First Sort of Feeling • Second Sort of Feeling

5. The paradox of taste • David Hume • Language • Variety of taste • Language: art & science • Morality & Language • Example: Homer • Example: Koran • Precepts of ethics

6. The paradox of taste • Standard of Taste • Standard of taste • Argument for the impossibility of a standard of taste. • The nature of beauty • The axiom • Opposition to Axiom

7. The paradox of taste • Rules & Criticism • Rules of composition a posteriori not a priori • Rules of art • Faults • Testing the Rules of Art • Endurance & Foreign appeal as measures of influence

8. The paradox of taste • Principles • General principle • Explanation of failures to please/displease • Delicacy from Don Quixote • Qualities in objects & delicacy of taste • Critics

9. The paradox of taste • Ascertaining Delicacy of Taste • Intro • Practice • Multiple Perusals • Comparisons • Prejudice • Purpose • Reason

10. The paradox of taste • Critics • Principles of taste • The True Standard • Problem • Aesthetics vs. the Sciences • Distinguishing people of taste • Time

11. The paradox of taste • Factors • Two sources of variation • The general principles of taste are uniform in human nature • Age & qualities • Relativity • Age & Country • Ancient & modern learning • Morality & aesthetics • Moral principles • Religion

12. What is Art? • Leo Tolstoy • Defining Beauty • Two definitions of beauty • No objective definition • Taste • Criticism of attempts to define taste • Criticism of existing aesthetics • Criticism of existing aesthetic standards

13. What is Art? • Art, Pleasure & Beauty • Defining human activity • Pleasure & beauty • Food analogy • Food analogy continued: the problem of taking beauty to be the aim of art • Problem with existing aesthetics: it is based on a conception of beauty

14. What is Art? • Union & The Activity of Art • Defining Art: words analogy • What is not art • Art & feeling • The feelings • All the following is art • Art

15. What is Art? • What Art is Not • Definition of art & the activity of art • Art is not • Art is • Analogy to words • Importance of art • The scope of art

16. What is Art? • Art & Counterfeit Art • Banishing & over acceptance • Distinguishing art from counterfeit art • The feeling & real art • Infection & art • Degree of infectiousness • Sincerity • Distinguishing art from counterfeit art

17. What is Art? • Defining Good & Bad Art in Regards to Content • Objectives • Analogy to speech & quality of art • Art & religious perception • River analogy • Religious perception & value • Attack argument for religious perception • Progress argument for religious perception • Christian Art • Two kinds of Christian art

18. What is Art? • Assessment of Specific Works • Examples of the highest art flowing from love of God and Man • Examples of good universal art • Details • Novels • Music • Painting & Sculpture • Universal Pictures & Statues • Bad Painting

19. What is Art? • Bad music & judging Beethoven • Judging

20. Oscar Wilde • Background (1864-1900) • Life • Poetry • Plays • Prose

21. New Aesthetics • First Part • Vivian • Position • Mirror • Cyril’s Challenge to Vivian • Nature & life imitate art • Vivian’s Case • Nature & Art • Change in London’s climate is due to a school of art. • Nature is our creation

22. New Aesthetics • Looking & Seeing • Things are because we see them. • Looking is different from seeing. • One does not see anything until one sees its beauty • Example: fog • Nature’s Imitation of Art • Effects • Nature

23. New Aesthetics • What Art Expresses • Cyril • Temper of its age • Spirit of its time • Moral & social conditions • Vivian • Art never expresses anything but itself • Vanity • Art is not symbolic of any age

24. New Aesthetics • Imitative Art • Vivian • The more imitative art is, the less it represents the spirit of the age. • The more abstract & ideal, the more it represents the spirit of the age. • Cyril • The spirit of the age. • Arts of imitation reveal the spirit of the age. • Vivian: Middle Ages • Imitative arts • Middle Ages • No great artist ever sees things as they really are.

25. New Aesthetics • Vivian: Japan • Japanese people as presented in art do not exist. • See a Japanese effect • Vivian: Ancient Greeks • Greek art • Art has never told us the truth

26. New Aesthetics • Vivian: Doctrines of the New Aesthetics • First Doctrine: Art never expresses anything but itself • To pass from the art of a time to the time itself is the great mistake all historians make. • Second Doctrine: All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature and elevating them into ideals. • Realism is a complete failure • Avoid modernity • The only beautiful things

27. New Aesthetics • Third Doctrine: Life Imitates Art for more than Art imitates life. • Fourth Doctrine: Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of art.