What is the Philosophy of Art?

[Landon Caeli]

When you see or experience an artistic work, what is it that occurs within you that draws your attention? is it visual complexity, or perhaps a hidden meaning or thought, that seems new?

This is a philosophical question, for people who aspire to, or appreciate further learning. Within the Catholic faith, which is what I'm personally familiar with, we tend to accept all facets of life as being within Gods creation, and thus, within Gods 'plan' for humanity. With that in mind, we tend to pursue greater understanding in various, and oftentimes, non-biblical areas.

The Persistence Of Memory by Salvador Dalí 1931

 

[jacks]

When I think of art I'm normally thinking of Fine Art painting or perhaps a sculpture. Usually what draws me to something is either it shows great technical skill or instills some kind of emotional response within me. The technical side is fairly easy to explain, but the emotional draw can be difficult for me to pin point. I guess not being very in touch with my inner self, I just fall back on the old saying. "I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like."

 

[Landon Caeli]

I wonder if art is a representation of our capacity to grow intellectually, spiritually, socially, conceptually... Like a doorway to progression of kinds.

This masterpiece (by Salvador Dali in 1948) may have become the precursor to what we saw in Star Wars movies, which lead to further thought between the good and evil of empires, republics, kingdoms, etc. All "thought provoking" stuff, which has indirect or direct effects on Western culture at it's core.

Star Wars first debuted in 1977. Only a few years before the Cold war between the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of the United States. How do we know the artistic representations within that movie, and by extension the spirit of this painting, didn't effect the very policies that our nation used against the soviets during that time? Realistically, all of our experiences play a role in what happens. And representations found in art maybe shouldn't be viewed as snapshots of history or of things learned and recorded, but rather precursors to what is yet to come. They're new thoughts, imaginative thinking... The Avant Garde!

 

[Landon Caeli]

I know people are sometimes afraid of progress. And that's why people don't like art - because we feel comfortable with what we're familiar with. The bible, for instance like God, never changes... And it's true that staying the same is just as important as progress, because if we progress in the wrong ways, and do it too quickly, we risk the chance for bad results.

But by rejecting progression entirely, we cut ourselves off from everything as well. For instance, we might find that we love eating bread - we love it so much we don't want anything else... But we cant live off bread alone, we need to progress, by finding new things to eat. Perhaps it's best to create a happy medium, where Christian's recognize art, not going over the top with it, but acknowledging it as a factor to consider in God's plan for humanity.

IMO.

Anyone disagree..?

 

[Chesterton]

I don't know, but the ability of humans to make representative art is one of many things that drew me to Christianity. In Genesis we read that God made man "in his image", and lo and behold we find that man is the only animal that does the same. Art is the signature of man.

“It is the simple truth that man does differ from the brutes in kind and not in degree; and the proof of it is here; that it sounds like a truism to say that the most primitive man drew a picture of a monkey and that it sounds like a joke to say that the most intelligent monkey drew a picture of a man. Something of division and disproportion has appeared; and it is unique. Art is the signature of man.” - G. K. Chesterton​

 

[Chesterton]

"I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like."

An elderly member of my church is a retired art history professor. He likes to joke that "I know much about art, but I don't know what I like."

 

[AlexB23]

When you see or experience an artistic work, what is it that occurs within you that draws your attention? is it visual complexity, or perhaps a hidden meaning or thought, that seems new?

This is a philosophical question, for people who aspire to, or appreciate further learning. Within the Catholic faith, which is what I'm personally familiar with, we tend to accept all facets of life as being within Gods creation, and thus, within Gods 'plan' for humanity. With that in mind, we tend to pursue greater understanding in various, and oftentimes, non-biblical areas.

The Persistence Of Memory by Salvador Dalí 1931
View attachment 345689

Man, your questions touch upon the complex and multifaceted nature of art and its relationship to philosophy. The philosophy of art can be defined as the study of the nature, purpose, and meaning of art.

When we encounter an artistic work, whether religious or secular, various things can occur within us that draw our attention. Visual complexity is one aspect of art that can captivate us. For instance, the intricate details and patterns in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling or the vibrant colors and swirling forms in Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night can be visually stunning and engaging.

However, art can also have a deeper meaning or thought that seems new to us. In religious art, hidden meanings or symbols can be used to convey spiritual messages or concepts. For example, in Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, the goddess Venus is depicted emerging from a seashell, symbolizing her birth from the sea and her association with love and beauty.

Secular art can also contain hidden meanings or themes. Theodor Kittelsen's The Monster of the Lake shows a figure, an ominous monster lurking just below the surface of the water of a calm lake. The monster's menacing presence creates a sense of fear and anxiety in the viewer.

So, the philosophy of art encompasses both the aesthetic experience of visual complexity and the intellectual exploration of hidden meanings or concepts. It is a field of study that can deepen our appreciation and understanding of the role art plays in human culture and experience.

 

[jacks]

I don't know, but the ability of humans to make representative art is one of many things that drew me to Christianity. In Genesis we read that God made man "in his image", and lo and behold we find that man is the only animal that does the same. Art is the signature of man.

“It is the simple truth that man does differ from the brutes in kind and not in degree; and the proof of it is here; that it sounds like a truism to say that the most primitive man drew a picture of a monkey and that it sounds like a joke to say that the most intelligent monkey drew a picture of a man. Something of division and disproportion has appeared; and it is unique. Art is the signature of man.” - G. K. Chesterton​

Beautiful thought! This really never occurred to me before.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

Art, poetry, music any form of artistic expression seems to be a creative life of a person trying to speak and be heard.

I love sunsets. So beautiful and yet also constantly changing, never the same. Much like the flow of life itself.

 

[AlexB23]

I wonder if art is a representation of our capacity to grow intellectually, spiritually, socially, conceptually... Like a doorway to progression of kinds.

This masterpiece (by Salvador Dali in 1948) may have become the precursor to what we saw in Star Wars movies, which lead to further thought between the good and evil of empires, republics, kingdoms, etc. All "thought provoking" stuff, which has indirect or direct effects on Western culture at it's core.

View attachment 345690

Star Wars first debuted in 1977. Only a few years before the Cold war between the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of the United States. How do we know the artistic representations within that movie, and by extension the spirit of this painting, didn't effect the very policies that our nation used against the soviets during that time? Realistically, all of our experiences play a role in what happens. And representations found in art maybe shouldn't be viewed as snapshots of history or of things learned and recorded, but rather precursors to what is yet to come. They're new thoughts, imaginative thinking... The Avant Garde!

So, someone actually made a Star War's All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) version of this painting on the Internet's Front Page, Reddit (I do not have an account there, but the art, tech, sci-fi and science sections are cool to read over).

 

[Ophiolite]

When you see or experience an artistic work, what is it that occurs within you that draws your attention? is it visual complexity, or perhaps a hidden meaning or thought, that seems new?

I'll also focus on fine art. If I have a favourite artist Dali would be a hot contender. (Only Turner, or one of the French Impressionists might get a look in.) With Dali it is the colour and the novelty that attract. It's probably the same for the others.
Dali's Christ of Saint John of the Cross hangs in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. When I first saw it I knew nothing of the controversy over its purchase, or critical dismissal of it in some quarters of the art community. At that time it lacked the attention (as a major attraction) the gallery now accords it. It sat on a half landing, facing the visitor climbing to the upper floor. I was simply stunned by the unusual perspective and the power of the dark blues. Since the gallery is half a kilometre from the university at which I studied, I visited a few times, but not so often as to become sated. I still try to visit it on those rare occassions I am in Glasgow, but these days - because of its popularity - the opportunity to stand alone and contemplate it in silecne has gone.

I wonder if art is a representation of our capacity to grow intellectually, spiritually, socially, conceptually... Like a doorway to progression of kinds.

Well, that's plausible and you are merely wondering, but it would need a substantial number of examples and tightly reasoned argument to turn it into a substantive case. I have little doubt that there is a whole school of art appreciation and analysis that has published dozens of books and hundreds of research papers on the that very point. You might find a search for them fruitful.

Star Wars first debuted in 1977. Only a few years before the Cold war between the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of the United States.

Huh! The Cold War began arguably while Hitler's ashes were still cooling outside his bunker and certainly by the late 40s.

How do we know the artistic representations within that movie, and by extension the spirit of this painting, didn't effect the very policies that our nation used against the soviets during that time?

We don't, but I think we can say with a fair degree of confidence that they had no effective impact on those policies. For example, the only thing Reagan's Star Wars program took from the film franchise was the name: a clever piece of marketing to make the program more desirable.

I know people are sometimes afraid of progress. And that's why people don't like art - because we feel comfortable with what we're familiar with.

That's an interesting thought. I've never heard that argument before. If anything people seem to me to gravitate towards art they are familiar with and that art they like. Yes, that behaviour may well arise from a distaste for progress (I would prefer change, not progress), but does not seem to me to lead to a dislike for art. Dislike of art has more the appearance of an anti-intellectual stance.

Art, poetry, music any form of artistic expression seems to be a creative life of a person trying to speak and be heard.

Humans are excellent problem solvers. (We have to be, as we are superlative at creating them.) One very effective form of problem solving is lateral thinking, where one views a topic from a different and perhaps unique perspective. Artists simply employ this skill to project novel ways of looking at the world. Thus art, in its many forms, is a fortuitious side effect of that problem solving ability. (I think music, with its mathematical aspects, may also draw on a related skill set of mathematical apptitude.)

 

[bèlla]

There's a lot of occult symbolism in Dali's work and he's the mastermind behind the infamous Rothschild ball everyone's heard of. Art is a beautiful medium for expression but it's important to understand what we're looking at.

Art isn't widely discussed in Christian circles as a norm beyond mentions of favorite pieces, exhibits in a religious setting or historical musings on stained glass panes. But there are those within greater Christendom who are aficionados and able to have deeper discussions with the requisite observations you wouldn't encounter otherwise.

You could probably glean a lot from his tarot deck. He uses old masters to demonstrate the hidden symbolism in the paintings. The proverbial there is more than meets the eye. Which is usually the case. Speaking without speaking is a frequent tool in artistic expression in all mediums. There's usually something beneath the surface they aren't saying overtly. Something that forces you to pull back the layers.

If you're so inclined you'll discover what the piece really means. If it appeared in a film there's more involved.

~bella

 

[durangodawood]

For me art is about getting to see something of the world through other peoples eyes.

This could involve any aspect of the world a person chooses to focus on: pure form, imagined realities, personal feelings, nature, circumstances of living.

 

[AlexB23]

There's a lot of occult symbolism in Dali's work and he's the mastermind behind the infamous Rothschild ball everyone's heard of. Art is a beautiful medium for expression but it's important to understand what we're looking at.

View attachment 345838
View attachment 345839

Art isn't widely discussed in Christian circles as a norm beyond mentions of favorite pieces, exhibits in a religious setting or historical musings on stained glass panes. But there are those within greater Christendom who are aficionados and able to have deeper discussions with the requisite observations you wouldn't encounter otherwise.

You could probably glean a lot from his tarot deck. He uses old masters to demonstrate the hidden symbolism in the paintings. The proverbial there is more than meets the eye. Which is usually the case. Speaking without speaking is a frequent tool in artistic expression in all mediums. There's usually something beneath the surface they aren't saying overtly. Something that forces you to pull back the layers.

If you're so inclined you'll discover what the piece really means. If it appeared in a film there's more involved.

~bella

View attachment 345841

That sounds dark. Tarot stuff is quite evil, plus that deer head is creepy.

 

[bèlla]

That sounds dark. Tarot stuff is quite evil, plus that deer head is creepy.

Tarot was originally a parlor game. The decks were custom painted for wealthy patrons and weren't mass produced. The printing press made them available for the wider public and divination began between the 16th and 17th century. Older decks depict well-known members of noble families.

Dali's deck is really dark when compared to more popular options like Rider-Waite.

There's a lot of symbolism in the party photo. If memory serves the deer head is a nod to Cernunnos, the Celtic Horned God.

~bella

 

[AlexB23]

Tarot was originally a parlor game. The decks were custom painted for wealthy patrons and weren't mass produced. The printing press made them available for the wider public and divination began between the 16th and 17th century. Older decks depict well-known members of noble families.

Dali's deck is really dark when compared to more popular options like Rider-Waite.

There's a lot of symbolism in the party photo. If memory serves the deer head is a nod to Cernunnos, the Celtic Horned God.

~bella

Both seem evil.

 

[bèlla]

Both seem evil.

It isn't innocent. Most people are oblivious and unaware of what they're looking at art or otherwise. I try to be informed and learn what I can so I won't dishonor the Lord of glorify the devil. But admittedly it takes effort. You won't hear it in a sermon or bible study. You have to do your homework.

~bella

 

[AlexB23]

It isn't innocent. Most people are oblivious and unaware of what they're looking at art or otherwise. I try to be informed and learn what I can so I won't dishonor the Lord of glorify the devil. But admittedly it takes effort. You won't hear it in a sermon or bible study. You have to do your homework.

~bella

Yeah, that is literally what I just said. Tarot and this gala are both demonic.

 

[bèlla]

Yeah, that is literally what I just said. Tarot and this gala are both demonic.

It's not enough to call something demonic. We have to be able to pinpoint what makes it so. That's how you give them something to go on beyond opinions. You have to decode it and line it up with scripture. God has raised up men and women and given them the ability to do that and enlighten us. I learn a lot from them.

~bella

 

[DaisyDay]

The documentary by and about the street artist Banksy is a decent exploration of the difference between schlock art and expressive art.

Exit Through the Gift Shop