Art as Expression

Art as Expression

1. we value art for its expressive qualities - art must involve the expression of an emotion

   • art does not reflect the outer world but the inner world of the consciousness and the self
     • Jackson Pollock's The Enchanted Forest

2. Romantics

   • the purpose of the artist is to uncover his emotions and express them in art

3. it does not matter how accurately an artist responds to his surroundings

   • what matters is how the artist emotionally responds to their surroundings
     • Wallis' The Death of Chatterton
       • expresses pain and suffering without the audience knowing who the subject is

4. the difference between art and a facial expression or a greetings card is that the work of art projects a highly subjective, individualised emotion that has been felt by the artist

5. Tolstoy

   • purpose of art is not to produce beauty, provide pleasure or communicate ideas, but to communicate feelings
     • for art to be successful the audience must receive the same emotional feelings as the artist.
       • therefore value is placed in the hands of the audience reaction
   • the feelings expressed in art should be of a moral nature and enlighten us emotionally about the human condition
     • Religious art promotes harmony and understanding between human beings
   • art must be universally accessible
     • art such as Shakespeare's plays are purely about upper class love, power struggles etc. not relevant to majority of the audience
       • Tolstoy rates Dickens much higher because he expresses universal emotions
   • we can understand and appreciate art without the need for knowledge of the history
   • Objections to Tolstoy
     • disregards a lot of art that is appreciated
     • considers some feelings superior to others
       • feelings of a moral and religious nature are seen as more appropriate and valuable then feelings representing immorality
         • Tracey Emin's art would be considered counterfeit
     • Kant argued that moral and aesthetic judgments should be completely differentiated
     • rates horror films because they invoke strong audience reaction
     • facial expresssions