RE: MD On Art

From: Jonathan B. Marder (jonathan.marder@newmail.net)
Date: Mon Aug 13 2001 - 12:11:20 BST


Hi Rasheed,

RASHEED
>And what ever happened to 'art pour l'art?' Art for art's sake? I
know that
>not all art can be this way; there has to be some social context or
some
>pointer to a higher purpose.

That's all very well, but what is "art's sake" - what is its purpose?
Purpose/sake is one of those SO platypus words. I think that the
question can mislead, so we should use a simpler form: What is art? That
takes us back to the original question.

>But some art (I think of Dali here) is
>expressive of emotions, desires, or dreams, and has no tangible social
>message.

I like Dali, and think it is full of messages. We don't necessarily have
to spell it out in "tangible" terms.

RASHEED
>It's my opinion that all it takes for good art to be produced, like
>Pirsig says in ZAMM, is for the artist to enter the state of
consciousness in
>which nothing exists outside the work being done. Then the work
produced will
>have value. . . . Of course that doesnt exclude technical ability,
which is
>something one must develop with time.

I don't think this has to be universal. I agree that some art can come
out of a dreamlike state, but the artist also has to wake up to
communicate his dream.

>But you are right in saying that art must have some kind of static
Quality to
>prevent it from being forgotten. Although the Dynamism is what sells a

>piece, it must have value at a static level to be considered good art.

I think that my long-held view of DQ as potential is useful here. Art is
EVOCATIVE of the static patterns of value.
The potential is REALIZED when someone actually experiences the art.

Jonathan

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