Ways of Defining Art

1) Clear-cut definition- classificatory, tendency to classify things; distinguishing things that are from things that are notweakness: tendency to exclude

2) Skepticism about the possibility of a definition; “art itself is a phenomenon that by its nature defeats attempts to define it”weakness: too vague

3) Contextual Approach- art as a succession of stages of development realized in different historically and specific contexts; focus on art’s changing social role

Some key theories about art

Imitation Theory•The goal of art is the faithful imitation of nature•Plato and Aristotle

Themistokles von Eckenbrecher, Ustikt over Laedalsoren, 1901

Intentionality Thesis

• Monroe Beardsley• An artwork is such because of the

artist’s intention that what he is making/fashioning is a work of art satisfying aesthetic interest

Diego Velasquez, Las Meninas, 1656-57

Communication Theory• Art communicates emotion

between the creator and the audience

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893

Institutional Theory of Art

• It is the artworld which determines whether something is a work of art. • Artworld- Museum directors,

gallery owners, academics, critics, etc.

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

‘Readymades’- Duchamp

• By simply choosing, repositioning or joining, titling and signing it, the object becomes art