In this series I attempt to express my views on art as they have been influenced by the philosophers I have studied. Although many of the ideas are directly connected to the ideas of these philosophers, it is often the case that my use of their concept is not quite in harmony with what they were originally claiming.
Martin Heidegger gives a compelling description of what art does. More accurately, he describes our response when we experience art. For Heidegger, the work of art is determined by your relationship to it and by the way you categorize the thing in your mind. As a phenomenologist, Heidegger describes the way that we perceive a work of art in contrast to the way that we perceive a piece of equipment. A piece of equipment or a tool is something that we don't think a lot about when it is functioning properly. If there is something about a piece of equipment that draws our attention outside of its intended use then generally that is viewed as a flaw, i.e. a hole in a sock. An artwork on the other hand is something that we consider in great depth. The work of art reveals something to us. In Heidegger's mind this revelation or unconcealing constitutes truth and thus the object is a work of art when it is communicating truth. (Throughout this paper when I use the word truth I am using it in this sense. Truth is the coming-to-light of a thing. It is an unconcealing. I am not referring to absolute truth in the religious sense.) Artworks change our perception of how things are, if only slightly. Later, Goodman adds a little to this idea by pointing out that a thing could function as a work of art at some times and not at others. This prompts the question “When is art?” as opposed to “What is art?” I find that an illustration of this idea is helpful.
If I came upon Duchamp's Fountain in a men's restroom I would never give it a second thought. It would be functioning as a piece of equipment. But if something happened to the urinal to make me consider it as a work of art then that could change. Potentially all that would need to occur is for that urinal to be placed in an art gallery and be signed by an artist or given a title. At that point I would begin to wonder why it was in the gallery. I might consider the form of the urinal and the delicate shadows that play on its surface. I might think about the urinal on a pedestal and the metaphor that follows. I might begin to wonder if the urinal could possibly be a work of art and what it would mean to the world of art if it was. At this point there is some kind of revealing or unconcealing that is occurring. In this way the object is functioning for me as a work of art and not as a piece of equipment (although I have not made the claim that it is a good work of art). Alternately, I could take a painting out of a gallery and use the canvas as flooring in a tree house. The flooring that had previously been art would be unlikely to function as art in that context.
This idea of art is one that rings true for me. When I am in the right frame of mind and am able to stand before an artwork I have had experiences similar to what has been described, that is the perception of a revealed truth. I have also passed by an artwork hanging on a wall fifty times without giving it a second glance. Surely it served no higher purpose than decoration at those times. This experience of art is not only limited to the visual arts. I have had these kind of moments while reading poetry or listening to music. I like to think that at those moments when something is revealed that I am experiencing art. This answers many questions I have had about art and its purpose. It makes sense to me now that most people don't want something that I would consider to be great art hanging on their wall all the time. They don't want to have that kind of interaction with the art object regularly, and often the kind of work I appreciate doesn't serve well as decoration. So people will often prefer a work of art that doesn't require effort on their part, something that will decorate their home and match their couch. These objects will most likely be functioning as a decoration tool for the overwhelming majority of the time and as such will not be functioning as art. Even if I hang something I consider to be a great work of art on my wall it would only function as art for a minority of its time there. Much of the time it would go unnoticed as life moved on around it.
In summary there are two major ways to think about the definition of art that are particularly useful. Art today is an artifact that fits in the narrative of the history of art and is recognized as art by the art world. More meaningfully, art is a thing that we consider that communicates truth in that it reveals something to us. The nature of the thing as art is not constant and a thing can function as art at some times and not at others.
Continued in the next post...
This idea of art is one that rings true for me. When I am in the right frame of mind and am able to stand before an artwork I have had experiences similar to what has been described, that is the perception of a revealed truth. I have also passed by an artwork hanging on a wall fifty times without giving it a second glance. Surely it served no higher purpose than decoration at those times. This experience of art is not only limited to the visual arts. I have had these kind of moments while reading poetry or listening to music. I like to think that at those moments when something is revealed that I am experiencing art. This answers many questions I have had about art and its purpose. It makes sense to me now that most people don't want something that I would consider to be great art hanging on their wall all the time. They don't want to have that kind of interaction with the art object regularly, and often the kind of work I appreciate doesn't serve well as decoration. So people will often prefer a work of art that doesn't require effort on their part, something that will decorate their home and match their couch. These objects will most likely be functioning as a decoration tool for the overwhelming majority of the time and as such will not be functioning as art. Even if I hang something I consider to be a great work of art on my wall it would only function as art for a minority of its time there. Much of the time it would go unnoticed as life moved on around it.
In summary there are two major ways to think about the definition of art that are particularly useful. Art today is an artifact that fits in the narrative of the history of art and is recognized as art by the art world. More meaningfully, art is a thing that we consider that communicates truth in that it reveals something to us. The nature of the thing as art is not constant and a thing can function as art at some times and not at others.
Continued in the next post...
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