© michael lacewing representation michael lacewing [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Constable, The Hay Wain (1821)
Some basics
• We often praise a work for its likeness to life.
• Paintings represent objects so we can see the object in the painting.
• If we can’t, the painting often loses its point, e.g. portraits, or fails as a painting.
Heda, Still Life with a Lobster (1650-9)
Further points
• Artists and actors spend years developing techniques for realism.
• Resemblance to life also explains why some subjects are ‘off-limits’ for art, e.g. the Holocaust.
How does art represent reality?
• Plato: what is fully Real are the Forms; physical objects are copies of the Forms; art copies or imitates physical objects
• Obj: art is not an imitation, nor do pictures try to get us to confuse art with reality
Pere Borrell del Caso, Escaping Criticism (1874)
Copying
• Nor does art literally copy reality, e.g. when there is no reality to copy, but the artist makes it up as they go
• And the value of art is not judged by how exact a copy it is
Vernet, A Landscape at Sunset
(1773)
Turner, The Scarlet Sunset (1830-40)
Copying (cont.)
• If art was copying, wouldn’t photographs be better than paintings?
• A good forgery is a good copy, but not good art.
• What about dance, music, literature? Nothing is being copied…
Representation
• So if art does represent reality, this cannot be understood as imitation or copying.
• We could still argue that good art represents ‘authentically’
Picasso, The Three Dancers (1925)
Appel Untitled (1960)
Newman, New Adam (1951-2)
Representation (cont.)
• If nothing is represented, then nothing is represented ‘authentically’
• Not only painting, but music• Is an emotion represented?
– Not represented, but perhaps expressed
The value of art
• Do we value art because it informs us?• Plato: art is not valuable, because we
learn more from reality• A forgery informs us as much as the
original• We may value art as a representation
– But the value here is not information, but imagination and skill
• Our response to art is not so intellectual