http://www.matthewcgood.com/blog/2005/05/30/what-is-art-chapter-one/ Musician, Web Developer, Hobbyist. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:10:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.matthewcgood.com/blog/2005/05/30/what-is-art-chapter-one/comment-page-1/#comment-172 kate Tue, 31 May 2005 07:24:05 +0000 http://www.pedalboy.net/blog/?p=77#comment-172 i believe in an objective set of metaphors in society. and the idea that art manipulates those. that's what art for art's sake was about originally. i think the purpose of art usually is to reject or comment on something in society. which is an attempt to manipulate. "purpose" is a difficult word. one that should be used losely in relation to art. also, it's important to realize that tolstoy was basically done by the time he wrote this. he'd already written war and peace and anna karenina and rejected his own genius completely as being false talent. he'd just gone through a conversion (i would highly recommend tolstoy's confessions) and was i think angry at himself and at a world that had lied to him about fame and fortune. but the man was still a genius. i believe in an objective set of metaphors in society. and the idea that art manipulates those.
that’s what art for art’s sake was about originally. i think the purpose of art usually is to reject or comment on something in society. which is an attempt to manipulate. “purpose” is a difficult word. one that should be used losely in relation to art.
also, it’s important to realize that tolstoy was basically done by the time he wrote this. he’d already written war and peace and anna karenina and rejected his own genius completely as being false talent. he’d just gone through a conversion (i would highly recommend tolstoy’s confessions) and was i think angry at himself and at a world that had lied to him about fame and fortune.
but the man was still a genius.

]]> http://www.matthewcgood.com/blog/2005/05/30/what-is-art-chapter-one/comment-page-1/#comment-171 john Mon, 30 May 2005 22:50:28 +0000 http://www.pedalboy.net/blog/?p=77#comment-171 "Part of being an artist is knowing how to manipulate the collective set of metaphors that a culture (or all of humanity, preferably, but that is not always possible) is familiar with" this is all fine and good if you are believing in some form of an objective value or values that are obtainable and even manipulatable by humanity. however, this also tends to lead to thoughts that there is some sort of objective underlying structure to all art or other things that i don't believe exists under the surface. under the surface, in my opinion, lies a multiplicity of meanings. the manipulation of these meanings is possible but only to a very minute extent. i like art for a purpose as well. i think that it is neccessary...but i think that it can also box itself into a conglomoration of strict deffinitions which is again agreeing with you. the problem i find is that many people want to isolate art from it's environment and that divorces the possibility of purpose from it i think. art should live and breathe and "live" in the dynamics of meanings. but i have a hard time reconciling it for it's own sake. if tolstoy is writing this book with his right hand...what's he doing with his left? fin. “Part of being an artist is knowing how to manipulate the collective set of metaphors that a culture (or all of humanity, preferably, but that is not always possible) is familiar with”
this is all fine and good if you are believing in some form of an objective value or values that are obtainable and even manipulatable by humanity. however, this also tends to lead to thoughts that there is some sort of objective underlying structure to all art or other things that i don’t believe exists under the surface. under the surface, in my opinion, lies a multiplicity of meanings. the manipulation of these meanings is possible but only to a very minute extent.
i like art for a purpose as well. i think that it is neccessary…but i think that it can also box itself into a conglomoration of strict deffinitions which is again agreeing with you.
the problem i find is that many people want to isolate art from it’s environment and that divorces the possibility of purpose from it i think. art should live and breathe and “live” in the dynamics of meanings. but i have a hard time reconciling it for it’s own sake.
if tolstoy is writing this book with his right hand…what’s he doing with his left?
fin.

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