Schoenberg/Kandinsky Symposium and the Academy of Light

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Schoenberg/Kandinsky Symposium and the Academy of Light Leonardo Gateway Author(s): Roy Ascott, Timothy Binkley, Robert A. Brown, Ronald R. Brown, Bulat M. Galeyev, Roger F. Malina, Alex Nicoloff, Martha Nicoloff, Wolfgang Schneider, Christa Sütterlin Reviewed work(s): Source: Leonardo, Vol. 27, No. 1 (1994), pp. 3-11 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1575936 . Accessed: 15/03/2012 09:12 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The MIT Press and Leonardo are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Leonardo. http://www.jstor.org GrT WAY In GATEWAYwe reporton significant events, in- cludingconferences and expositions;news of inter- estingdevelopments in technologyand scienceas theyrelate to the arts;tutorial-level discussions of importanttechnologies and scienceforthe nonex- pert. Wewelcome readers' suggestions for and con- tributionsto future sections. SCHOENBERG/KANDINSKY SYMPOSIUM AND ANNOUNCING:LEONARDO THE ACADEMY OF LIGHT ELECTRONICALMANAC In January 1993, the Netherlands Royal Conservatory Since1988, Leonardo has been in- and the Municipal Museum of the Hague held an in- volvedin electronic publishing. ternational symposium devoted to the comparative BeginninginSeptember 1993, publi- analysis of the creative works of two artists who have cationof ournewest, monthly on-line become twentieth-century symbols-composer Arnold newsletter,Leonardo Electronic Schoenberg and painter WassilyKandinsky. The "syn- Almanac(LEA) began. LEA is dedicat- thetic" ideas of the artists were emphasized in the ed to providingup-to-date perspec- event, which highlighted the interaction of music and tiveson art involving science and painting. The symposium was timed to occur with the technology-throughartists' state- celebration of the opening of 25 new studios and work- mentsabout their own work, profiles shops for students of the electronic arts department of artfacilities, theoretical and tech- and the Conservatory Music Theatre. The celebration nicaldiscussions and reviews of ma- also marked the opening of the international Academy jorevents. LEA is distributedbythe of Light-with presentations by those whose work to- MITPress through subscription on day embodies the spirit of the painting and music-syn- theInternet electronic network. thesis of Kandinsky and Schoenberg. LEAEditor Craig Harris is a board Speakers included the following: from Holland: memberof thenonprofit organization Frans Evers, Konrad Boehmer, Laurens v.d. Heijden, Leonardo/lSAST.Heis a composer, HansJanssen, Job Ijzerman; from Germany: Albrecht multimediaartist, researcher and ed- Dumling, Klaus Kropfinder; from the United States: ucator.His current research involves Reinhold Brinkmann, Kurt W. Forster; from Russia: theexploration of the creative pro- Irina Vanechkina and Bulat Galeyev. cess andthe impact of newtechnolo- In the Art Gallery and hall, where Kandinsky's pic- gieson creative work environments. tures are exhibited, the Conservatory students per- formed Schoenberg's PierrotLunaire. In the ( 1994 ISAST LEONARDO, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 3-11, 1994 3 @GA WAY Announcing... Schoenberg/KandinskySymposium ... LeonardoElectronic Almanac is Conservatory's Great Hall, Schoenberg's monodrama availablefree to Leonardosubscribers Die glucklicheHand was presented with the original and for $25.00/year to nonsub- stage set and light-musical synthesis elements. The au- scribers. Send orders via e-mailto thor of this review showed two musical videotapes that <[email protected]>.Please in- highlighted Kandinsky's pictures. In addition, a video- clude fullmailing address or account tape of the recent Moscow stage performance of Der number,telephone and fax numbers, glebeKlangby Kandinsky and A. Schnittke (with a dra- and e-mailaddress. Nonsubscribers ma ensemble headed by G. Matskyavichyus)was should send VISA/MasterCardinforma- shown. tion as well. One evening the guests were given tours of the new Send editorialsubmissions to electronic music studios in the Conservatory and of <[email protected]>.Send news (50 the most ancient and newest musical instruments in words) of your professionalactivities the Museum in the Hague. The place of honour in this for publicationto <[email protected] exposition was occupied by the "Thermenvox," pro- ley.edu>. duced in the pre-waryears in the United States by the company founded by compatriot Lev Termen. Meeting participants enjoyed a pleasant surprise when 97-year- old Termen himself, along with his daughter Natalia, performed several pieces on the Thermenvox. Termen took part in the Academy of Light's opening celebra- tion as guest of honour in recognition of the fact that, in addition to electronic music, he was engaged in the design of light-musical devices in the 1920s and 1930s. (In the United States, he conducted these experiments with Albert Einstein.) The Academy of Light is an un- official organization, working in the "invisible college" mode, and it is intended to unite everyone engaged in music and light synthesis all over the world. From the United States, Bill Moritz and Elfriede Fischinger reported on the light-musical films by Oskar Fischinger, and gave a concert with their light- instrument, the "lumograph."Videotapes of light-mu- sical concerts of Christian Sidenius, also of the United 4 Gateway GA WAY Schoenberg/KandinskySymposium ... States, were shown in his absence. The director of the THEEYE: A JOURNALOF performance of Die glucklicheHand, Dick Raaijmekers, CONTEMPORARYART and light-artist Christa van Santen represented the Themaiden issue of TheEye: A Journal Netherlands. Gustav Metzger, light-designer of famous of ContemporaryArthas been published rock-band ensembles, demonstrated in detail the tech- inNigeria. Contents include "Towards nical methods he uses in his artistic practice. In addi- ArtisticRevolution inNigeria," by Edwin tion to Termen, Russia was represented by my Debebs;"Historical and Aesthetic Notes presentation of a documentary film about the works on Uli"(the art form of bodyand wall of SKB "Prometheus." F. Evers and Babeth M. Vanloo paintingusing indigo dyes), by C. Krydz took part in the planning and preparation of the aca- Ikwuemesi;a profile of sculptorIsiaka demic program. Osundeby Gani Odutokun; "Three The whole event ended with a "round table" devot- Propositionson PublicArt in Nigeria," by ed to interdisciplinary problems of art education, with OsaD. Egonwaand a portfolioon sculp- discussion of the question: "Are the utopian ideas of torRichard Baye with a textby the artist, Schoenberg, who in 1942 proposed to establish a as wellas exhibitionreviews and com- 'School for Soundmen,' and of Moholy Nagy, who de- mentaries.The magazine is a bi-annual scribed at the same time the contours of an 'Academy publicationof the Eye Society, founded in of Light,' a reality now?" Such meetings give us hope 1989 to promotethe visual arts as in- that today these ideas have indeed become reality. strumentsof development.Editorial advi- BULATM. GALEYEV sors includeLeonardo Honorary Editor KAI, SKB "Prometheus" K. Marks Str., 10 YusufGrillo. An editorial signed by Jacob Kazan, 420111 Jari,secretary of thesociety, states, "We Russia believein the freedom of theartist to use hisvarying experiences for the benefitof BEHRS RECEIVE LINDBERGH GRANT mankind.Such experiences may not nec- Leonardoauthors Marion R. Behr and Omri Behr [1] essarilybe identifiablewith a traditional of ElectroEtch Enterprises, Edison, NewJersey, U.S.A., background,but may include benefits received a 1993 Lindbergh Grant from the Charles A. fromexplorations inscience and technol- Lindbergh Fund for their project entitled "Electron- ogy."For more information, contact The ically Controlled Art Etching: Improving Artist Safety Eye,P.O. Box 1411, Zaria,Nigeria. and Eliminating Hazardous Waste." Subscriptions:N 50. Given in the name of the famed flyer and conserva- tionist, Lindbergh Grants are presented annually to Gateway 5 Even less widely known, but importantfor what it tells of man and novelty, is thefact that historically thefirst discoveryof useful materials, machines or processeshas almost always been in the decorativearts, and was not donefor a perceivedpractical purpose. Necessityis NOT the motherof invention-only of improvement.A man desperately GAE searchingfor a weapon orfood is in no moodfor discovery;he can only WAY exploit what is already known to exist. Discoveryrequires aesthetically IG motivated curiosity, not logic,for new things can acquire validity only by interaction with an environment that has yet to be.... -Cyril Stanley Smith, "On Art, Invention and Technology," Leonardo10, No. 2, 144 (1977). LindberghGrant ... MEDIENLABOR MUNCHEN men and women who further a balance between the ad- Anew laboratory has been created in vance of technology and preservation of the natural/hu- Munichfor the implementation of inter- man environment. disciplinaryMedia Art projects: the Medien An excerpt of the summary prepared by the Fund de- LaborMunchen (MLM). Itis currently scribes the Behrs' project as follows: "Marion Behr, with housedon the second floor of the Kunstler- her husband
Recommended publications
  • From Point to Pixel: a Genealogy of Digital Aesthetics by Meredith Anne Hoy
    From Point to Pixel: A Genealogy of Digital Aesthetics by Meredith Anne Hoy A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Whitney Davis, co-chair Professor Jeffrey Skoller, co-chair Professor Warren Sack Professor Abigail DeKosnik Professor Kristen Whissel Spring 2010 Copyright 2010 by Hoy, Meredith All rights reserved. Abstract From Point to Pixel: A Genealogy of Digital Aesthetics by Meredith Anne Hoy Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric University of California, Berkeley Professor Whitney Davis, Co-chair Professor Jeffrey Skoller, Co-chair When we say, in response to a still or moving picture, that it has a digital “look” about it, what exactly do we mean? How can the slick, color-saturated photographs of Jeff Wall and Andreas Gursky signal digitality, while the flattened, pixelated landscapes of video games such as Super Mario Brothers convey ostensibly the same characteristic of “being digital,” but in a completely different manner? In my dissertation, From Point to Pixel: A Genealogy of Digital Aesthetics, I argue for a definition of a "digital method" that can be articulated without reference to the technicalities of contemporary hardware and software. I allow, however, the possibility that this digital method can acquire new characteristics when it is performed by computational technology. I therefore treat the artworks covered in my dissertation as sensuous artifacts that are subject to change based on the constraints and affordances of the tools used in their making.
    [Show full text]
  • A Rhetorical Model for Homiletics. Rodney Kennedy Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1990 The piE stemic Power of Metaphor: A Rhetorical Model for Homiletics. Rodney Kennedy Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Kennedy, Rodney, "The pE istemic Power of Metaphor: A Rhetorical Model for Homiletics." (1990). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5063. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5063 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.
    [Show full text]
  • Attempting Art: an Essay on Intention-Dependence
    Attempting Art: an essay on intention-dependence Michel-Antoine Xhignesse Department of Philosophy McGill University, Montréal December 2016 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Michel-Antoine Xhignesse 2016 Table of Contents Dissertation abstract ................................................................................................................ iii Résumé de thèse ....................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1 – Introductory Remarks............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 – Art, Intention, and Intention-Dependence ............................................................ 9 2.1 – Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.2 – Intentional action ................................................................................................................. 11 2.3 – Intention-dependence vs. concept-dependence .................................................................... 18 2.4 – Accidents and Incidents ....................................................................................................... 22 2.5 – Separating Concept- and Intention-Dependence
    [Show full text]
  • Aesthetics—What? Why? and Wherefore?
    KENDALL WALTON Aesthetics—What? Why? and Wherefore? It is a very great honor to address my friends and philosophy of quantum physics are younger. But colleagues as president of the American Society these are clearly subcategories of traditional, well- for Aesthetics, an organization that plays a unique established areas of philosophy—ethics and phi- role in a field that is, at once, a major traditional losophy of science—and they inherit much of their branch of philosophy and also central to disci- identity and sense of purpose from their parents. plines often regarded as remote from philosophy, Aesthetics is not so fortunate. It is related in vari- as well as depending crucially on their contribu- ous important ways to epistemology, metaphysics, tions. philosophy of mind, philosophy of language— I will follow the lead of one of my distinguished indeed it overlaps all of them—but these older predecessors in this office, Peter Kivy, who used relatives are at best aunts and uncles to aesthetics, the occasion of his own presidential address twelve not parents. Aesthetics must figure out for itself years ago to step back and reflect on the state of what exactly it is. the discipline and the nature of aesthetics.1 Two kinds of issues about the field need to be addressed: What is distinctive about this branch i. what is aesthetics? of philosophy, in contrast to others? And what is philosophy? Under the first heading, we will ask Aesthetics is a strange field, in some ways a con- what aesthetics is the philosophy of , what domain fused one.
    [Show full text]
  • Broken Technologies
    Broken Technologies 2 The Angel of Machines: from Buch der Erfindungen Gewerbe und Industrien,or Book of Inven- tions,Vol.6,1887, F.Reuleaux, Editor. From Moon, Francis C. The Machines of Leonardo da Vinci and Franz Reuleaux. Kinematics of Machines from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. Springer, 2007. FrontPage: © Maria Flores Crossa 3 Broken Technologies The Humanist as Engineer Fernando Flores Morador Lund University 2011- revised 2015 4 Department of History of Ideas and Science University of Lund Broken Technologies. The Humanist as Engineer. Ver 3.0 Biskopsgatan 7, 223 62 Lund © Fernando Flores Morador, 2009, Third Edition Cover: Maria Flores Crossa Tryck: Media – Tryck, Lunds Universitet, 2011-revised 2015 ISBN: 978-91-633-9692-2 5 Contents Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 5 List of figures .................................................................................................................................. 7 List of Tables.................................................................................................................................. 9 Foreword .................................................................................................................................. 11 First Edition (Ver. 1.0) ................................................................................................................ 11 Second edition (Ver. 1.1) ...........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 19Chronology of Works in Aesthetics and Philosophy Of
    Chronology of 19 Works in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Darren Hudson Hick Notes on Selection This chronology, as with this Companion as a whole, focuses on those works that contribute to the Western tradition of aesthetics, and, beginning in the twentieth century, in the analytic current of thought within that tradition (as opposed to the Continental one). As with the history of Western philosophy in general, the study of philosophical problems in art and beauty dates back to the ancient period, and is infl uenced by the major philosophical and cultural move- ments through the centuries. Much of what survives from the ancient to the post-Hellenistic period does so in fragments or references. In cases where only fragments or references exist, and where dating these is especially problematic, the author or attributed author and (where available) his dates of birth and death are listed. Where works have not survived even as fragments, these are not listed. As well, much of what sur- vives up to the medieval period is diffi cult to date, and is at times of disputable attribution. In these cases, whatever information is available is listed. Aesthetics in the period between the ancients and the medievals tends to be dominated by adherence to Platonic, Aristotelian, and other theories rooted in the ancient period, and as such tends to be generally lacking in substantive the- oretical advancements. And while still heavily infl uenced by ancient thinking, works from the medieval period tend also to be heavily infl uenced by religious thinking, and so many issues pertaining to art and aesthetics are intertwined with issues of religion as “theological aesthetics.” Movements in art theory and aes- thetics in the Renaissance, meanwhile, were largely advanced by working artists, and so tend to be couched in observational or pedagogical approaches, rather than strictly theoretical ones.
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Hans Urs Von Balthasar, the Glory of the Lord: a Theological Aesthetics, 7 Vols, Various Translators; Vol
    Notes PREFACE 1. Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics, 7 vols, various translators; vol. 1 (San Francisco: Ignatius; and New York: Crossroad, 1982); vols 2-3 (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1984-86); vols 4-7, trans. in progress. The range and depth of von Balthasar's treatment of various theological issues and figures relevant to matters of theological aesthetics makes his work a major resource for study in the field, and especially for historical understanding of a kind impossible to pursue here. His treatment of issues normally dealt with in aesthetics is nonetheless spotty and erratic; many of the theological and philosophical topics central to the present study are ones on which he barely touches. That is to say, von Balthasar's work is sui generis, standing outside the main arenas of both contemporary aesthetics and modem theology. For the most part I have had to be content to let him speak for himself. 2. Nicholas Wolterstorff, Art in Action: Toward a Christian Aesthetic (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1980). 3. Gerardus van der Leeuw, Sacred and Profane Beauty: The Holy in Art, trans. David E. Green (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963). 4. John Dillenberger, A Theology of Artistic Sensibilities: The Visual Arts and the Church (New York: Crossroad, 1986). 5. Thomas R. Martland, Religion as Art (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981). 6. F. David Martin, Art and the Religious Experience: The 'Language' of the Sacred (Lewisburg, Penn.: Bucknell University Press, 1972). 7. Frank Burch Brown, Transfiguration: Poetic Metaphor and the Languages of Religious Belief (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1983).
    [Show full text]
  • Mental Imagery and the Computer Image Space
    theoretical perspective From Imaginal to Digital: Mental Imagery and the Computer Image Space Nick Lambert a b s t r a c t The author suggests that the intangible characteristics of computer graphics bear some resemblance to the brain’s ability to construct mental images, as outlined by veteran s a historian of computer art, I am fascinated Kosslyn and his team at Harvard researcher Stephen M. Kosslyn. A An analogy might also be drawn by the nature of digital images and the way in which people have been looking at the visual with the “Imaginal World” of the apprehend them. Images that are rendered on a screen ap- psychology and neurophysiology Sufis, as described by Henri parently exist in a plane separate to the rest of our world, of mental imagery for several de- Corbin, which exists in a space analogous to the pictorial space developed by artists but with cades. Using PET and fMRI scan- of its own. As computer graph- an animate and interactive aspect wholly its own. Their basis is ners, Kosslyn and his collaborators ics have emerged as an artistic not visual but mathematical and process-driven, although the have discovered that particular medium, one may consider how this internalized ability influences computer has evolved into a device for generating imagery. As brain areas related to color and the artist’s response to the com- we become ever more adept at creating and navigating a range shape perception activate during puter, especially as new display of virtual worlds (whether the mundane desktop or the exotic the imaginary phase.
    [Show full text]
  • Artists' Perception of the Use of Digital Media in Painting
    Artists' Perception of the Use of Digital Media in Painting A dissertation presented to the faculty of The Patton College of Education of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Cynthia A. Agyeman December 2015 © 2015 Cynthia A. Agyeman. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled Artists' Perception of the Use of Digital Media in Painting by CYNTHIA A. AGYEMAN has been approved for the Department of Educational Studies and The Patton College of Education by Teresa Franklin Professor of Educational Studies Renée A. Middleton Dean, The Patton College of Education 3 Abstract AGYEMAN, CYNTHIA A., Ph.D., December 2015, Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Technology Artists' Perception of the Use of Digital Media in Painting (pp. 310) Director of Dissertation: Teresa Franklin Painting is believed to predate recorded history and has been in existence for over 35,000 (Ayres, 1985; Bolton, 2013) years. Over the years, painting has evolved; new styles have been developed and digital media have been explored. Each period of change goes through a period of rejection before it is accepted. In the 1960s, digital media was introduced to the art form. Like all the painting mediums, it was rejected. It has been over 50 years since it was introduced and yet, it has not been fully accepted as an art form (King, 2002; Miller, 2007; Noll, 1994). This exploratory study seeks to understand the artist’s perception on the use of digital media as an art tool and its benefit to the artists and art education. Grounded theory was used as a methodological guide for the study.
    [Show full text]
  • Lord, Lewis, and the Institutional Theory of Art Author(S): Peggy Zeglin Brand Source: the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol
    Lord, Lewis, and the Institutional Theory of Art Author(s): Peggy Zeglin Brand Source: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Spring, 1982), pp. 309- 314 Published by: Wiley on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/429688 Accessed: 09-08-2017 22:42 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/429688?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms The American Society for Aesthetics, Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism This content downloaded from 150.135.239.97 on Wed, 09 Aug 2017 22:42:09 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms PEGGY ZEGLIN BRAND Lord, Lewis, and the Institutional Theory of Art IN "Convention and Dickie's Institutional lack of spontaneity in artworks, i.e., the Theory," Catherine Lord maintains loss the of flexibility espoused by Dickie's defi- following thesis: nition, is established by Lord via two routes: a) arguing that being a work of (L) If a work of art is defined as institutional and conventional, then the definition artpre- is incompatible with institutionality cludes the freedom and creativity associated (Incompatibility Argument), and b) argu- with art.' ing that the creation, presentation, and ap- Lord also maintains that the antecedent of preciation of a work of art is not governed this conditional is false.
    [Show full text]
  • Cahiers Des Théories De L'art 1
    Revue Proteus – Cahiers des théories de l’art 1 Revue Proteus n° 4, la place de l'esthétique en philosophie de l'art Édito On le sait, les écrits de Platon abordaient séparément les questions relatives au beau et à l'art, séparément aussi celles relatives à l'art et aux sensations. e Mis à part quelques textes précurseurs, il a fallu attendre le XVII siècle pour que se théorisent plus précisément les liens unissant l'art aux sensations et que le goût intéresse les philosophes de l'art. Les règles de la bonne œuvre se voient évacuées au profit d'une appréciation subjective du spectateur. L'art est dès lors affaire d'esthétique. Quelque trois siècles ont suffi pour que se multiplient les opposants aux approches esthétiques de l'art ; ce présent numéro de la revue Proteus peut à ce sujet être lu comme un commentaire du texte de Timothy Binkley inti- tulé « “Pièces” contre l'esthétique ». Ce texte défend l'idée que l'apparence sensible de certaines pièces d'art n'est clairement plus gage de leurs appré- ciations et que l'esthétique n'a donc plus de pertinence pour penser l'art. Cette hypothèse, pour être consolidée, doit encore considérer le sujet perce- vant en plus du monde sensible lui-même : ce n'est en effet pas le monde sensible qui sent, et l'esthétique est affaire du sujet sentant. Ce sujet sentant est toutefois le même qui trouve souvent qu'il faille connaître un artiste pour aimer ses œuvres, le même qui dit parfois ne rien « comprendre » à l'art contemporain.
    [Show full text]
  • ARE VIDEOGAMES ART? Brock Rough, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016
    ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: ARE VIDEOGAMES ART? Brock Rough, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Jerrold Levinson Department of Philosophy This dissertation defends a positive answer to the question: \Can a videogame be a work of art?" To achieve this goal I develop definitions of several concepts, primarily `art', `games', and `videogames', and analyze arguments about the com- patibility between these notions. In Part One, I defend a definition of art from amongst several contemporary and historical accounts. This definition, the Intentional-Historical account, requires, among other things, that an artwork have the right kind of creative intentions behind it, in short that the work be intended to be regarded in a particular manner. This is a leading account that has faced several recent objections that I address while arguing that it is superior to other theories in its ability to answer the question of videogames' art status. Part Two examines whether games can exhibit that kind of creative intention. Recent literature has suggested that they can. I propose and defend an account of games according to which games cannot be intended to be works of art because games are goal-directed activities that require a voluntary selection of inefficient means that is incompatible with the proper manner of regarding that is necessary for artworks. While the conclusions of Part One and Part Two appear to suggest that videogames cannot be works of art, Part Three proposes and defends a new account of videogames that, contrary to first appearances, implies that not all videogames are games. This Intentional-Historical Formalist account allows for non-game videogames to be created with an art-making intention, though not every non-game videogame will have an art-making intention behind it.
    [Show full text]