Aesthetic Theory Essay Example: What Is Art?

Art is a defining example of aesthetic objects. It depicts the aesthetic interest as well as the elusive nature of objects. There is the increasing attention paid to the artwork in a wicked world; however, little else is often held to be spiritually significant. It should be noted with great concern that the philosophy of art increasingly continues to displace the idea of beauty from the philosophy of the 18th century (Carrier, 2019). The existence of art as one of the central human institution calls for the formulation of theories that will be more inclined to the aesthetic experience than enjoyment. In other words, there is the need to incorporate approaches that will elaborate on the profundity of different impressions that we obtain from beauty, the ideas that highlight the solace and the meaning to the individuals who experience them. There are diverse particular problems in the study of the philosophy of art that most influence the existing aesthetics. The application of concepts when it comes to an understanding and appreciation of art reveals an interesting peculiarity between natural beauty and art.

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In most cases, understanding appears to be the prerequisite of the whole experience of art; the above scenario has thus revealed too many philosophers and critics that the art is not deeply entrenched in the objects of the sensory experience as the main instrument of knowledge (Carrier, 2019). To be more specific, the art seems to have the power to express emotions and to represent realities. Alternatively, some people argue that the recognition of the meaning of art involves the appreciation of the expressions and the properties of representation incorporated by the artists. It can as well be said that if we understand the meaning of art, it is because there is the appreciation of content, the procedure that is common to the appropriate audience.

According to Danto's Artworld Theory, there is the operational theory of art applied by the participants when it comes to the distinction of art and non-art. Through employing a foreign vocabulary, Danto analyses the interpretive community that appreciate the categories and codes of art. These codes are not always of perceptible in nature or other words; they are not visible. According to Danto, as perceived in the older aesthetics, art incorporate properties or qualities of things or different artefacts. The above perception is conceptual and interpretive, and although it is not sociological, it is compatible with the description of Bourdieu's fuller (Andina, 2017). The Art is determined or conditioned by the economic and social lived positions within the institutions that require ownership and knowledge of the cultural capital to be part of the social class identity. Danto's concept or theory of art adheres to the learned social and professional distinctions. In the above case, institutions often operate as socializing structures when it comes to the reproduction of cultural capital for the owners.

Danto perceives the Artworld as an institution exhibiting complex fields of forces which institute art. These forces provide rules and contexts for the likelihood of something that in the end, becomes an art. According to Danto's Artworld theory, technique involves the provision of structures of symbolic capital which include prestige, value and some other intangible factors with fungible values or in other words, elements which are exchangeable for money. In most cases, the process of creating a symbolic value of art requires the collaboration of all actors which include players and role models; additionally, the institutions should also collaborate with lesser or higher levels of awareness in trying to create a symbolic value of artists, art as well as collections (Andina, 2017). In many cases, there is only value extract or value-add when it comes to the economy of symbolic value. Danto's Artworld Theory stipulates that what make something an Artwork is invisible, meaning that it cannot be seen. In other words, what makes something to be called an artwork is not observable. Art is a node within the network of forces without which it would become unrecognisable or invisible. The Artworld is established by different institutional functions that are dependent and already in place for diverse individual actors or individuals taking up positions.

Danto laid down the foundation for the elaborate definition of art, a scenario that sought to address the concerns raised by different critics in the 20th Century (Rollins, 2012). The meaning of art is a subject of interest for many scholar and authors of many different books and journal articles which have been published over the years. According to Danto, the definition of art can be categorized into conventional and non-conventional. The non-conventional approach takes the aesthetic concept as one of the intrinsic characteristics in an attempt to recognize the phenomena of art. On the other hand, the conventional definition assumes the connection of aesthetic, expressive or formal properties as the essentials when it comes to the actual definition of art. When it comes to the conventional definition, art is basically a sociological category. When it comes to the classificatory disputes concerning art, Danto adheres to the conventional approach. Therefore his definition of art whatever museums, art schools, as well as an artist, prefer regardless of the formal definitions that have been put forth by various scholars and philosophers. Danto has focused on the subject of art in most of his recent work; the detailed treatment is therefore found in the transfiguration of the commonplace.

From his work "The Artworld" Danto formulate the term "art world" to mean the cultural context or an atmosphere that is concerned with the art related theories (Rollins, 2012). The above work first appeared in the journal of philosophy, and for many years, it has been widely reprinted. The term has had a considerable impact on the aesthetic philosophy. Danto perceives art as an artefact which has achieved a different sense of appreciation by the people acting on behalf of some social institutions. Therefore, Danto's definition has been formulated as follows: an object becomes a work of art if it is coined around a subject whereby it projects some attitude or specific points of view or in other words, when it exhibits a style. Something also becomes art by means of the metaphorical or rhetorical ellipse that engages the participation of the audience in the fulfilment of what is missing. Finally, something also becomes an artwork if the interpretations require an art historical concept. The above idea is what makes the definition of art institutionalist. However, the perception has been criticized for demanding that art criticism is written in an advanced rhetorical style that lacks or requires the independent account of what leads to a context of art history and for not applying music.

The primary meaning of art has undergone tremendous changes over different centuries. Additionally, it has continued to evolve during the 20th century (Rollins, 2012). Thus, Danto describes the history of the art in his contemporary version in accordance with the Hegel's dialectical transformation of art. In accordance with different views, Danto is never complaining of anyone making art anymore. In other words, he claims that no good art is being made. To him, there is a belief that the history of western art has ended following what Hegel anticipated. The end of the art refers to the beginning of the modern time of the art. The modern art no longer obeys the restraints of the imitation theory; they serve the new purposes. The beginning of art faced an era limitation and thereafter followed by the era of ideology and lastly followed by the post-historical period (Andina, 2017). In most cases, understanding appears to be the prerequisite of the whole experience of art; the above scenario has thus revealed to many philosophers and critics that the art is not deeply entrenched in the objects of the sensory experience as the main instrument of knowledge.

The definition of art can be categorized into conventional and non-conventional. The non-conventional approach takes the aesthetic concept as one of the intrinsic characteristics in an attempt to recognize the phenomena of art. Danto perceives the Artworld as an institution exhibiting complex fields of forces which institute art. These forces provide rules and contexts for the likelihood of something that in the end, becomes an art. Danto's Artworld Theory stipulates that what make something an Artwork is invisible, meaning that it cannot be seen. In other words, what makes something to be called an artwork is not observable.

References

Andina, T. (2017). What is art?: The question of definition reloaded.

Carrier, D. (2019). Aesthetic theory, abstract art, and Lawrence Carroll.

Rollins, M. (2012). Danto and His Critics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.