tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post4695334440942116410..comments2023-06-13T04:38:07.859-05:00Comments on High Concepts: Impressive, Charming--But Is It Art?Daniel McInernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17395718013706017328noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-431605297590016762011-07-02T18:29:48.149-05:002011-07-02T18:29:48.149-05:00Well said, Benjamin, especially your second commen...Well said, Benjamin, especially your second comment--and I'm also grateful to brownsonianreview for the nice points. As for you, Jeff, I'll make a point in this series to get to the relationship between intellect and emotion in the art. For the nonce, it's important to note that, for Aquinas and Maritain, art is essentially an intellectual activity, however much emotion--and imagination, and the senses-- are involved. That pits the Thomistic tradition against modernity (at very least when it comes to painting).Daniel McInernyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17395718013706017328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-54747146091862924952011-06-28T13:12:03.983-05:002011-06-28T13:12:03.983-05:00I'm not sure what I think about this. I do kno...I'm not sure what I think about this. I do know that most "modern" conceptions of art focus on emotion and feeling rather than imitation (or mimesis if you'd rather). Art is seen more as an expression of emotion rather than as a rational activity. Art is about "expressing oneself." I know, as an amateur musician, that unless I'm playing classical music, I put much more emphasis on feeling (and even to some degree in classical music) than I do to the intellectual process of making music. So, rather than reaching a conclusion, I am left with more questions. What about the role of emotion or expression in art? Are not emotions components of human nature as well as reason? How do we balance the role of emotion and reason in art?jachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13943236678662463846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-46275740328071442812011-06-25T18:44:19.979-05:002011-06-25T18:44:19.979-05:00suddenly, i'm thinking about how classical mus...suddenly, i'm thinking about how classical musicians once scoffed at the thought of jazz and improvisation as an art form, though both types of music required technique, intent, etc. [or more recently: rap and hip hop]. i would probably not consider andre as seriously as older, more refined artists, but personally, i don't even hold most "serious" "artists" in high esteem. i find it hard to distinguish genre fiction from literary fiction in these postpostpostmodern times lately, for instance. and many great filmmakers don't seem all that great to me... i suppose: lately, i see a lot of great art technique, but barely ever enough high concept to constitute "art".benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11440150119230459203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-58294395851888206322011-06-25T12:36:23.570-05:002011-06-25T12:36:23.570-05:00As Maritain says in Ch 3, "[Art's] formal...As Maritain says in Ch 3, "[Art's] formal element, what constitutes it in its species and makes it what it is, is its being ruled by the intellect.[4] If this formal element diminishes ever so little, to the same extent the reality of art vanishes."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-18068624266718342642011-06-25T12:26:20.182-05:002011-06-25T12:26:20.182-05:00I don't disagree. No, Andre is not doing art. ...I don't disagree. No, Andre is not doing art. Ergo, neither was Pollock et al. Where Andre is incapable of the mature intellect requisite to the endeavor, Pollock et al apparently <i>chose</i> not to engage his/their mature intellects and achieved what a 3 year old could.<br /><br />Mozart, however, had some nice compositions by the age of 6 or 7. Is the operation of reason in music significantly different than its operation in the visual arts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999089465199150217.post-79815446743107718782011-06-25T09:13:53.159-05:002011-06-25T09:13:53.159-05:00just because it's interesting: there is a semi...just because it's interesting: there is a semi-recent documentary called My Kid Could Paint That, which is about a similar child prodigy painter from new york. there are some neat twists.benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11440150119230459203noreply@blogger.com