The Philosophical Side of Contemporary Art Forms
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2015 The Philosophical Side of Contemporary Art Forms Kristina Bodetti Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/526 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THE PHILOSOPHICAL SIDE OF CONTEMPORARY ART FORMS by KRISTINA BODETTI A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2015 ii ©2015 KRISTINA BODETTI All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. 01-05-2015__________ ___Noel Carroll______________ Date Thesis Advisor 01-12-2015__________ ___Matthew Gold____________ Date Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract The Philosophical Side of Contemporary Art Forms By Kristina Bodetti Advisor: Noel Carroll The purpose of this project is to show that contemporary art forms, specifically popular music, film and comics/graphic novels, are capable of, and do in many cases work as philosophical pieces. I believe that an analysis of these mediums will reveal instances in which the works of art explicate established philosophical theories, expand upon them, and in some cases invent new theories. Each new medium of art gets examined by philosophy in its turn and its merits as a unique art form are debated. From these arguments it is possible to extrapolate the ways in which these works can become philosophical as well as artistic. In philosophically examining the merits of a medium its unique and distinctive qualities are examined. Once these qualities are known it is possible to examine how they can be used to convey philosophical ideas and theories. v Preface It seems clear to me that the philosophical field of aesthetics can be divided into two distinct categories. The first is the philosophy of art and the second is art as philosophy. The philosophy of art attempts to define what art is, what makes a medium a unique art form and often includes a discussion of beauty. Art as philosophy, on the other hand, attempts to determine if works of art can also be works of philosophy. Art as philosophy is focused on the content of the work; the ideas and meaning behind the art. While the philosophy of art is an important and beneficial line of inquiry it is art as philosophy that I am interested in and will explore here. The second category, art as philosophy, can again be divided in two. Art can become philosophy by illustrating or explicating a pre-existing philosophical idea or theory, or art can become philosophy by making a new or updated philosophical statement. It is the second of these that is more difficult to do and as such more difficult to prove. How can art enable us to work out philosophical thought without using words and lengthy prose? Art can be the way those who have trouble articulating deep, philosophical thoughts express those ideas. Art is clearly a form of creative expression and is often thought of as a form of emotional expression but the idea of art as a form of intellectual and philosophical expression may be more difficult to believe. While some philosophical theories look at art as a practice that diminishes the reasoning ability of the artist and audience, other theories show the intellectual side of art to be an important component of what makes a work successful art. For example, in Idealism, where there is believed to be a difference between perception and reality, some philosophers, such as Schopenhauer, believe art to be the closest connection we have to reality. Without going to the extreme of Idealism it is still possible to make philosophical art. vi Acknowledgements I would like to thank Prof. Noel Carroll for advising me on this project and guiding me through the realm of aesthetics. Thank you to Ms. Katherine Koutsis for helping me to navigate the MALS program. I would also like to thank Prof. Howard Ruttenberg for introducing me to the world of philosophy and encouraging me to pursue it in my studies; without his guidance and help over the years I’d have been lost. I would also like to thank Prof. Samuel Hux and Prof. Timothy Kirk for getting me started in combining my passion for art with my interest in philosophy I would like to express my appreciation for Kunal Singh for his insights. I also want to send a very special thank you to Kunal Singh as well as Ken Rojas, Nancy Vargas, Doreen Ramsey and Lucy Coletto for their constant support of all my endeavors. Last, but by no means least, I thank my parents. Thank you to my mother who has always been my biggest supporter in everything I do and without whom I could not succeed. And thank you to my father, to whose memory I dedicate this work. vii CONTENTS Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….1 Sounds Like Philosophy: Music Theory……………………………………….…..…………..….3 Philosophy on the Big (and Small) Screen: Film & Television…..………..………………..…...18 Getting the (Philosophical) Picture: Comics & Graphic Novels…………………………...……24 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….....43 Appendix………………………………………………………………………………….……..44 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..…45 1 Introduction Art and philosophy have been connected since ancient Greece when Plato and Aristotle debated the power and merits of art. As new media for creating art arose, modern philosophy began to analyze them asking questions like, “what is it?” and “does this new medium make art?” and then goes on to build a philosophy of the medium. A subsequent question that may arise is whether the medium can create works of philosophy and then arguments may follow for and against the medium as philosophy. The first important distinction to make is between philosophy of art and art as philosophy. Philosophy of art implies a theory of what art is and, in the case of specific media, an examination of the medium and its use. This answers the question of whether or not the medium is art and what makes it unique. Art as philosophy, on the other hand, is related to the content of the work being philosophical in itself. This idea can take two forms; the first is representing or illustrating previously conceived theories and the second is presenting a new philosophical idea, theory or argument. When considering whether a new medium is art, a common argument that arises is the Medium Specificity argument. Medium Specificity looks to the elements of a medium that are unique and make it different from any other previously established art forms. This method of determining if a new medium is a new art form can become hotly debated. For example, when these arguments arose around film, some believed that film was nothing more than recorded theatre and, therefore, that it wasn’t an art form but simply a means of preserving an art performance. Others looked to things like cinematography, camera angles and framing to separate film from theatre and prove it to be its own art form. 2 Once it is established that a medium is a unique art form another question worth exploring is whether or not that medium is capable of being philosophy. The first way that it is possible for art to be philosophy is by exploring philosophical ideas and theories that have already been explored in the traditional prose form. Common examples of this are films, such as the Matrix, exploring the belief in the existence of the external world. The theories associated with Idealism are well established in prose by many prominent philosophers. What films like the Matrix do isn’t to tell us anything new about these ideas but to simply present them in a different way. Art can do more than this, however. In some cases art does tell us something new about the philosophical ideas and theories it is referencing. These cases are more difficult to prove but can also be far more interesting to examine. The artwork in question may raise new questions, explore inventive answers to old philosophical questions, or take a previous theory a step further. However the work does it, when art becomes philosophy the result is something greater than just a work of art. 3 Sounds like Philosophy: Music Theory Music is one of the oldest art forms and much has been written on how it should be made and what is important about it. It has been examined not only by musicians and artists but by scientists, educators, mathematicians and, of course, philosophers. Philosophers have been examining music since ancient Greece and continue through today in works like the “Pop Culture and Philosophy” books. There is something about music that touches us on a deep level that is difficult to understand intellectually. Writers across many fields have tried to identify what quality music has that gives it this ability to talk to us without words, to inspire us to thought and action and to connect us to one another. Regardless of which theory on the matter one subscribes to, it is clear that this mysterious quality of music is what makes it a medium capable of philosophy. Demystifying Music At least part of music’s power lies in intervals, the space between two notes, specifically thirds. A major third creates sound waves that are in phase with one another which thus sound harmonic.