Having studied so many philosophers and their varying definitions of art, my views on art have changed and complicated. We have delve into simple words like “is” and explored topics from the standards of taste to the role of the emotions. Studying the ideas of each philosopher, I never agreed completely with what each one said and therefore, none of their definitions of art matched fully to my definition. However, the ideas of a couple of philosophers stood out to me.
In The Origin of the Work of Art, Heidegger emphasized that art is the becoming of truth. Truth comes out during unconcealment through createdness. The truth then stays as truth through preservation. I prefer Heidegger’s definition because there is so much that is available in the context of an artwork. Through an artwork, you learn so much about something, whether it’s through the colors, the brushstrokes, or even the texture. For example, when looking at Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, you get a sense of what it was like during the industrial revolution through the “dirty” colors and brushstrokes of Monet. However in my opinion, this truth can’t be the real truth because then through an artwork, an artist can create truth. The truth that is unconcealed through art is more of the artist’s own truth and what he views the world. Therefore, I believe art also gives us a great insight to what the artist feels him or herself.
I also really like Collingwood’s definition of art in that it has to do something with emotions . Emotion is vital to the work of art because that is where lies its value. Therefore, when someone “accidentally” makes a work of art without any intention or concentrated emotion, I believe that shouldn’t be counted as art, even though this happens very frequently. However, if someone were to just make random splatters of paint but there was a intended emotion the artist was trying to express, the artwork, whether good or bad, should be deemed art. Nonetheless, I find Collingwood’s assertion that the artist does not know the emotion ahead of time but only through working it out in the artwork untrue. I believe the emotion is always known ahead of time but it’s not very well developed. However, through making the artwork, the artist is able to better concentrate and make this emotion more specific and individualized.
I find it funny how much my original definition of art has changed, which involved just emotion. Now, my definition of art involves fulfilling three criteria: involve an individualized emotion, the release of truth, and the ability to connect with the spectator. As I study more ideas of philosophers, this definition would probably be extended or revised again.
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