POSTSCRIPT

February 26, 2008

I was asked to post a summary of what I described as the method of philosophy, that I said can be followed when inquiring into any aspects of our societies.

Here it is:
1) Collect data concerning all of the alternative approaches used in the subject of your inquiry. See WHAT is done and HOW it is done. (e.g. What do Behaviorists, Freudian Psychoanalysts, Jungian Psychoanalysts, Humanistic Psychologists, Cognitive Psychologists..., DO? HOW do they do it?)

2) Ask WHY they do what they do. This should take you to the concept/generalizations/laws/rules/principles (reasons why) of their theories.

3) Ask now what the major assumptions of their different theories are? (What do they assume about man/society/reality...?). And ask what it is they value in choosing the theories that they do. This should reveal the desired goals/ends
of that theory (#2) and that practice (#1).

In our inquiry into Art we look at the different practices and methods of the artists - individually, or in groups (styles). Then we ask Why they practice their art in that form to find what rules/principles they believe . And we then look at what they assume Art "Is" and what is important to them to achieve (values).

While no one will be tested on this method, it may help you to ask questions about the Art you see.

THINKING TOGETHER

February 26, 2008

In our first session of "But Is It Art? Understanding Contemporary Art" we looked at the problem of defining art and at the perspective that will be used in this class to understand contemporary art: the cultural milieu in which the art is made and the elements with which artists are concerned (space/time/light/gravity - depicted by lines/shapes/colors/textures).

The main problem with defining art is: who should define it for all of us? Once defined, art becomes restricted to that definition and experimentation and creativity are limited. Art is the main area in our lives in which we are not contained by rules/regulations/"logic"- in which we can express our feelings and thoughts and go beyond the conventional standards that prevail in most areas of our lives. Visual artists want to expand our perceptions, and our conceptions, of our worlds. They do this in different ways (styles), designing the elements of their art form (lines/shapes/colors/textures-- and in contemporary art, much more) to give us new ways of seeing.

We also looked at the concept of "understanding" as starting with a gut feeling reaction to a work of art that is always right and should be acknowledged. From there we can ask "Why do I react this way to this work?" This inquiry will take you to the aesthetic elements and their patterns to which you respond positively, negatively, or neutrally. A pattern of responses should emerge -- with, hopefully, exceptions that surprise us.

We started our inquiry into the intent and methods of Modern Artists with Manet who changed perceptions of space and perspective and continued on to Monet who showed us the importance of light, rather than specific objects, in our "seeing" the world, and how light changes over time. We then looked at Cezanne's landscape fused with light, and his still life in which he challenged our accepted concepts of perspective.

Next week we'll continue with the Early Moderns and their many new styles of art and on to the Post WW II Moderns who continued to explore new combinations of elements to expand our awareness.

Please feel free to add aspects of the artists that we haven't talked about so we can all expand our understanding.