Luke Jeffery - On Heidegger

Heidegger, though complicated and difficult to understand, makes profound remarks on the philosophy of art. His work takes a holistic approach, unlike many other aestheticians. He disregards approaches that focus on one part of the artistic process, arguing that one must take every aspect of the artistic process into account. This includes: the art object, the creator, the preserver, and the work or effect of the art; each of these pieces is equally important to the process of understanding art. He asserts that it is important to take into account the preserver and the effect of the art; by these, he means the audience and the weight or meaning that the art has to its surroundings and its observers. This is an interesting way to understand art, and it leads me to the question, "Does art have an objective meaning that has been created by the artist?" I've wondered this throughout the class, and it seems to me that it can have an objective meaning, yet that meaning is not always understood by the audience. A classic example from class is when Dr. Redick won the award for best painting when the judges thought his painting meant something completely different from what he intended it tot mean. This question remains unresolved in my head and continues to display the complexity of art in general.