- Never assume the obvious is true. William Safire
On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 7:32 PM, armando baeza <[email protected]> wrote: > Or dynamically simple. > mando > > > On Dec 1, 2009, at 9:28 PM, joseph berg wrote: > > Concerning 'complexity', I would say that a masterpiece should make us >> aware >> that things can be more complex than we previously realized. >> >> On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 7:21 AM, Chris Miller <[email protected] >> >wrote: >> >> "from the very beginning of this book, my aim has been to elucidate >>> general >>> principles of the arts in terms of evolved adaptations" >>> >>> "i want to sketch the general characteristics that inhere in the very >>> greatest >>> works of art, the masterpieces that have withstood Hume's test of time" >>> >>> 1. Complexity: "presenting audiences with the highest degree of >>> meaning-complexity that the mind can grasp" >>> "complexity does not mean complicatedness but rather the densely >>> significant >>> interrelations of, say, poetry, plotting, and dramatic rhythm in a play >>> like >>> "King Lear" >>> >>> "artistic masterpieces fuse layer upon layer of meaning into a single, >>> unified, self-enhancing whole" >>> "the greatest works of art unite every aspect of human experience: >>> intellect >>> and the will, but also emotions and human values of every kind (including >>> ugliness and evil) >>> >>> "the finest works of art draw us into them in order to yield up the deep, >>> intricate imaginative experiences. They are marked by the utmost >>> lucidity >>> and >>> coherence" >>> >>> So Dutton's notion of "great art" is Romantic, and is best exemplified >>> by >>> the >>> long, dramatic works that were popular in that era. It's hard to see how >>> a >>> piano sonata, lyric poem, Chardin still-life, or an abstract painting >>> could >>> ever qualify. >>> >>> Which doesn't mean that such lesser things cannot be valuable and >>> important >>> - >>> but only that they offer less. >>> >>> And I would tend to agree. >>> More is more. >>> A full meal can be more satisfying than any snack. (even if you love >>> snacks) >>> >>> 2.Serious Content: "The themes of great works are love, death, and >>> human >>> fate." >>> >>> "Artistic masterpieces need not be solemn and can end joyfully ...but >>> even >>> when they do, they are not merely jolly and amusing, and offer an >>> implicit >>> nod, if not to a darker side of human existence, then at least to what >>> might >>> be termed a realistic view of the finitude of life and aspiration" >>> >>> "the arts that do not attain greatness through prettiness or >>> attractiveness >>> can be illustrated by considering the ambiguous place of sexual acts in >>> art" >>> >>> Which, again, would locate all purely instrumental music and abstract >>> painting somewhere lower than "the high white peaks of art" >>> >>> That sounds a bit severe - but after all -- nobody, except Buddhist >>> monks, >>> can live on mountaintops forever. >>> >>> I do question his exclusion of eroticism, however - and Dutton goes on >>> to >>> explicate this further: >>> >>> "Sex itself is just too simple...pure eroticism by itself is no more >>> likely >>> as >>> a theme for great art than purely green and pleasant Pleistocene calendar >>> landscapes are a likely theme for the greatest paintings. An enduring >>> masterpiece that presented a perfect, pretty landscape would probably use >>> it >>> as, say, a background for the Expulsion from Eden >>> than as a central subject in its own right" >>> >>> Interesting comment, don't you think? >>> >>> Dutton's notion of great painting coincides with that of the French >>> Academy, >>> c. 1880. He'd let Manet;s bargirl in, but keep Monet's landscapes out. >>> >>> "The evolutionary implications of waist-to-hip ratios for art history are >>> not >>> unlike the evolutionary implications for the presence of sweetness in >>> food. >>> That sugars are in all cuisines -- does not mean that a bowl of corn >>> syrup >>> will ever be dinner" >>> >>> But while sugar may taste sweet to every human tongue -- the sexual act >>> is >>> not necessarily "simple", and is not portrayed that way in the sculptural >>> programs of certain medieval Hindu temples, or in the pornographic themes >>> of >>> Ukyo-e. >>> >>> But overall, I still agree with Dutton's elevation of serious content >>> (even >>> if plenty of non-serious stuff has passed Hume's test of time - >>> especially >>> Chinese ceramcis, which I don't think have any theme at all) >>> >>> 3.Purpose: "authenticity of artistic purpose -- a sense that THE ARTIST >>> MEANS >>> IT" -- and Dutton goes to Libertarian and conservative columnist, Charles >>> Murray for further explanations. (taken from his book "Human >>> Accomplishment") >>> >>> "the greatest art tends to be created against a cultural backdrop of >>> "transcendental goods" - a belief that real beauty exists, there is >>> objective >>> truth, and the good is a genuine value independent of human cultures and >>> choices -- >>> which enables the "moral vision" that is characteristic of the most >>> enduring >>> art" (Dutton) >>> >>> To quote Murray: "extract its moral vision, and Goya's "The Third of >>> May, >>> 1808" becomes a violent cartoon. Extract its moral vision and >>> "Huckleberry >>> Finn" becomes "Tom Sawyer"..... Art created in the absence of a well >>> articulated conception of the good is likely to be arid and ephemeral" >>> >>> "Murray's conclusion that artistic masterpieces will be more likely found >>> in >>> cultures and times committed to transcendental goods that are justified >>> by >>> religious faith is backed up by the phenomenal strength of the arts in >>> the
