GE1701

ART AND PHILOSOPHY

Theories of Art:
 Imitationism  Aesthetic Hedonism
 Representationism  Aesthetic Functionalism
 Formalism  Action Theory
 Expressionism  Institutional Theory

IMITATION THEORY OF ART AND BEAUTY

Imitationism – Idealist Theory of Art

Raphael,
The School of
Athens

Leonardo as
Plato

Michelangelo
as Aristotle

Imitationism by Plato

It is the philosophy of beauty which answers the questions, “What is beauty?” or “What is the essence of
beautiful things?”, and the philosophy of art which answers the questions, “What is art?” or “What is the essence
of art?”.

Two (2) Ways of Considering Beauty

 Relative (subject) – “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
 Absolute (object) – “Beauty is in the thing itself.”

Aesthetic Beauty Ugly

Is Is Is
Logic Truth Falsity
Metaphysics Reality Illusion
Epistemology Knowledge Ignorance
Ethics Good Evil

The Imitationism by Plato suggests three (3) types of world: World of Being, World of Becoming, and World
of Art.

The world of being is the reality; it is unchanging and eternal. It is the universal form of any idea in metaphysical
form. It is the idea of beauty. A demiurge or philosopher is responsible in the making of the world being and
world of becoming.

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The world of becoming believes that the world of being is full of knowledge. It has to do with the appearance,
the changing, and temporal world. It is the appearance of the reality and where beautiful things exist. It is the
material or thing with the physical entity which you can touch or hold. The world of becoming believes in the art
studies which leads to ignorance as artistry are shown in beautiful artworks.

The world of art is the imitation or illusion of what is seen from the physical thing. These could be a painting of
a physical chair, cat, house, or even a drawing of a woman, man, trees, forests, and stars. Artists are
accountable for the creation of the world of art.

Things in this world are beautiful as appearances of the reality or idea of beauty of the universal form of beauty
existing in the world of being. Art is beautiful as imitations of things in this world. Art is the imitation of the
appearance of reality.

Philosophical Theory of Music

 Pythagoras – mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
Cosmological – concerns the structure of the Physical Universe. The sound of the universe is the sound
of music.
“There is geometry in the humming of the strings; there is music in the spacing of the spheres.”
“The eyes are made for astronomy, the ears for the harmony, and these are sister sciences.”
Music is the imitation of cosmic sound. Human music imitates the music of the spheres.

 Plato
Epistemological – concerns the Nature of Human Knowledge
“Gymnastics is for the body, as music is for the soul.”
The physical body pertains to a strong body and health while the spiritual soul pertains to the intelligent
soul/mind and knowledge.

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Theological Theory of Music

“Singing is praying twice over.” – Augustine

Michelangelo
Buonarroti, The Last
Judgment

Painted on the altar

wall of the Sistine
Chapel

Definition of Art Based on Imitationism

 Painting Sculpture – imitation of the appearances of people, things, events
 Music – imitation of the sounds of the universe
 Dance – imitation of movements of animals, nature, or things
 Literature – imitation of life through language
 Drama – imitation of life through action and dialogue

REPRESENTATION THEORY OF ART

Art is an image, an appearance, a copy, or a reproduction of things, people, objects, or events.

Figurative Art – art that contains a representation.

Ways of Representing Nature

 Physical Alteration – CHANGING the physical appearance of nature, like a natural marble that turns into a
sculpture by carving and cutting
 Selective Modification – ENHANCING the appearance of nature, like a forest that becomes a garden by
arranging and trimming the plants, or a woman beautifying herself by putting cosmetics on her face
 Perceptual Interpretation – COPYING nature according to the CHOICE of the artist, but the resulting image
is still recognizable, like in the style of representation in cubist and fauvist art

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Definition of Art According to Representationism

 William Shakespeare
“Art is putting mirror up to nature.”
“All the world is a stage, and men and women are merely players.”
 Chieh Tzu Yuan
“When painting has reached divinity (shen), there is an end of the
matter.”
 Chinese art – the drawing of forms which answer to natural form.
 Christian art – Representational Icon of religious images

Romantic Realism in the Philippine Art

Fabian de la Rosa and Fernando Amorsolo have shown only the aspect of beauty, idyllic and exotic rural
sceneries, and forms of light and shadow for tourism purposes.

FORMALIST THEORY OF ART

Formalism – art is the combination of perceptual elements. Art is non-figurative because it does not contain any
representation.

 Clive Bell (1881-1964)

“To appreciate art, we bring with us nothing from life.”, What is essential in art is only the
“significant form.”
 Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
“Artists need to look at nature and things only as forms made up of sphere, cylinders, cones.”

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Wassily Kandinsky (1881-1964) – Concerning the Spiritual in the Arts, 1923

“Every work of art is the child of its age…. It follows that each period of culture produces an art
of its own which can never be repeated.”
“Art is born from the inner necessity of the artist in an enigmatic, mystical way through which it
acquires an autonomous life; it becomes an independent subject, animated by a spiritual
breath.”

Categories of Kandinsky’s Paintings

 Impressions – paintings which retain some naturalistic representation.
 Improvisations – paintings which convey deep emotions inspired by events of a spiritual type.
 Compositions – purely formal paintings done carefully over a period of time after preliminary studies.
 these are Kandinsky’s most complicated works.

“Yellow is the color of middle C on a brassy trumpet; black is the color of closure, and the
endings; and that combinations of colors produce vibrational frequencies, akin to chords played
on a piano.” – Kandinsky

Purely Formal Music (Form of Classical Music)

 Cantata (sung [vocal] music). These are lyrics and may be accompanied by sounds of instruments.
Music becomes representational because of the lyrics.
 Sonata (instrumental music). These are only sounds of musical instruments

EXPRESSIONIST THEORY OF ART

 Expressionism – the transfer of the artist’s expression of emotions and ideas into an art.
 Susanne Langer
“Art is the creation of symbolic forms expressive of human feelings.”
 Leo Tolstoy
“Art is the objectification of emotion.”
 Aristotle
“Art is the expression of the artist’s overflowing emotion.” (catharsis)
 Benedetto Croce
“Like language, art is the expression of idea by the artist.” (intuitionism)

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Periods of Classical Music

 Baroque – the music with a dramatic style that was common in the 17th century and early 18th century
and that featured many decorative parts and details
 Classical – the music in European tradition that includes opera and symphony and is generally
considered more serious than other kinds of music
 Romantic – the music of the 19th century characterized by an emphasis on subjective emotional qualities
and freedom form

AESTHETIC HEDONISM

 Aesthetic Hedonism – the beauty is to pleasure and ugly is to pain.

 Aristippus and Epicurus
“Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die.”
 Beauty – pleasure, bodily, sensual, personal, subjective, relative, temporal, momentary, limited, and
gratifying experience.

AESTHETIC FUNCTIONALISM

Functionalism – the person’s feeling of need of an object which satisfies his/her needs. It answers the question
“What is it for?”.

 Functionalism in the Renaissance period is about teaching catechism to people.

Example: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings in the ceiling and alter wall

Architectural Principle – form follows function.

The purpose of the use of the building is according to the shape, size, color, texture, and space.
Example: Joern Utzon’s Sydney Opera House

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Feminine Beauty

ACTION THEORY OF ART

Action theory – style of abstract expressionism by Jackson Pollock. It is the process of putting, dripping, pouring,
and splashing paints on the canvas.

 Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

“On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can
walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be ‘in’ the painting.”

 Harold Rosenberg (1952) – Action Painting

“The canvass began to appear as an arena in which an act--rather than a space in which to
reproduce, re-design, analyze or express an object, actual or imagined. What was to go on the
canvas was not a picture but an event.”

Color Field Painting (Branch of Action Painting) – flat mass of colors on the picture plane (Mark Rothko
and Gus Albor).

INSTITUTIONAL THEORY OF ART

Institutional Theory – art is an institution in the society (George Dickie and Arthur Danto).

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The Artworld – the people are in the position of power. The artworld are the artists, art critics, art
historians/educators, art patrons/curators, art museums/galleries, schools/clubs, art awards,
recognition/popularity, art journals, and TV/newspapers.
For something to become art is like for someone to become a dentist or an engineer; it must pass all
the standards set by the school as an institution. For someone to become an artist is like for a person
to become a member of the Catholic church and rise to the hierarchy; s/he must go through all the
stages prescribed by the church as an institution.

To be recognized as an artist by the Artworld-Institution, a person must:

 have skills and talent;
 be studying in an art school;
 have a degree in Fine Arts;
 be a member of art organizations;
 win recognition, prizes, and awards;
 have artworks exhibited in museums and/or galleries;
 be mentioned in books, media, and art history;
 be well-known; and
 have a revolutionized art.

A thing becomes art if it is acknowledged as an art by the Artworld.

Reference
Orate, A. (2010). Lecture notes on aesthetics: Theories of art and beauty. Blended Learning Modules. Manila:
University of the East.

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