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What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand
ABSTRACT
What is art? The arts establishment has a simple answer: anything is art if a reputed artist or expert says it is. Though many people are skeptical about the alleged new art forms that have proliferated since the early twentieth century, today's critics claim that all such work, however incomprehensible, is art.
A groundbreaking alternative to this view is provided by philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand (1905-1982). Best known as the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Rand also created an original and illuminating theory of art, which confirms the widespread view that much of today's purported art is really not art at all.
In What Art Is, Torres and Kamhi present a lucid introduction to Rand's esthetic theory, contrasting her ideas with those of other thinkers. They conclude that, in its basic principles, her account is compelling, and is corroborated by evidence from anthropology, neurology, cognitive science, and psychology.
The authors apply Rand's theory to a debunking of the work of prominent modernists and postmodernists--from Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, and Samuel Beckett to John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and other highly regarded postmodernist figures. Finally, they explore the implications of Rand's ideas for the issues of government and corporate support of the arts, art law, and arts education.
[from the back cover]
What Art Is is the first book-length examination of Rand's little-known theory of art.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Traditional Meanings of the Term "Art"
What the Ordinary Person Thinks
The Cartoonists
The Journalists
Prime-TimeTelevision
The Ubiquitous Question: "But Is It Art?"
The Experts Speak
The Art Historians
The Critics
Need for a Valid Theory and Definition of Art
The Default of Philosophy
Ayn Rand's Theory of Art
The Status of Rand Studies
Overview of the Present Study
PART I - AYN RAND'S PHILOSOPHY OF ART
Chapter 1: "The Psycho-Epistemology of Art"
The Purpose of Art
Metaphysical Value-Judgments
Rand's Definition of Art
The Cognitive Function of Art
The Creative Process
Art, Religion, and Philosophy
Art and Ethics
Romanticism and Naturalism
"Efficacy of Consciousness"
Chapter 2: "Philosophy and Sense of Life"
Emotional Abstraction
Philosophy and Sense of Life
Sense of Life and Character
Sense of Life in Love and Art
Chapter 3: "Art and Sense of Life"
Emotion and "Expression" in Art
"Communication" in Art
The Significance of Artistic Selectivity
The Response to Art
Subject and Meaning in Art
Style
Style and "Efficacy of Consciousness"
Esthetic Judgment
Chapter 4: "Art and Cognition"
Literature
Painting and Sculpture
The Performing Arts
Dance
The Role of the Director
The Art of Film
The Arts and Cognition
"Modern Art"
Chapter 5: Music and Cognition
Music and Emotion
Music and Sense of Life
Rand's Mistaken Hypothesis
The Importance of Melody
The Composer's Viewpoint
Music as a "Re-Creation of Reality"
The Symphony Orchestra
Avant-Garde "Music"
Chapter 6: The Definition of Art
Anti-Essentialism in Contemporary Philosophy
The "Institutional" Definition of Art
The "Appeal to Authority"
The Rules of Definition
Rand's Definition of Art
Chapter 7: Scientific Support for Rand's Theory
Human Evolution and Prehistoric Art
The Fundamentality of Mimesis
Anthropological Perspectives
The Integrative Nature of Perception
The Psychology and Physiology of Emotion
Neurological Case Studies
The Modular Mind and the Diversity of the Arts
Clinical Psychology--Madness and Modernism
PART II - EXTENSION AND APPLICATION OF RAND'S THEORY
Chapter 8: The Myth of "Abstract Art"
Pioneers: Kandinsky, Malevich, and Mondrian
Mind Divorced from Matter: The"Primacy of Consciousness"
Collective Aspirations: The "Universal" vs. the "Individual"
Absolute Subjectivism
"Decoration" vs. Art
Utopian Aspirations
A Flawed View of Human Perception and Cognition
"Intuition" in Place of Reason and Objectivity
Counterfeit Elitism and "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Freedom, Spontaneity, and "Cognitive Slippage"
Theoretical Revisionism
Meyer Schapiro
Clement Greenberg
Abstract Expressionism
Mark Rothko
Jackson Pollock
Barnett Newman
Abstract Sculpture
Polling the People
Art in the Home
Killing the Messenger
Chapter 9: Photography: An Invented "Art"
Rand's Argument
What Photography Is
Historical Considerations
Contemporary Critical Views
Postmodern Photography
Chapter 10: Architecture: "Art" or "Design"?
Rand's Theoretical Position
Batteux's Classification
D'Alembert's Error
The Nature of Architecture
Utilitarian Function
Architecture and Values
Architecture and Abstract Sculpture
Architecture as Design
Chapter 11: Decorative Art and Craft
...
What is art? The arts establishment has a simple answer: anything is art if a reputed artist or expert says it is. Though many people are skeptical about the alleged new art forms that have proliferated since the early twentieth century, today's critics claim that all such work, however incomprehensible, is art.
A groundbreaking alternative to this view is provided by philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand (1905-1982). Best known as the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Rand also created an original and illuminating theory of art, which confirms the widespread view that much of today's purported art is really not art at all.
In What Art Is, Torres and Kamhi present a lucid introduction to Rand's esthetic theory, contrasting her ideas with those of other thinkers. They conclude that, in its basic principles, her account is compelling, and is corroborated by evidence from anthropology, neurology, cognitive science, and psychology.
The authors apply Rand's theory to a debunking of the work of prominent modernists and postmodernists--from Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, and Samuel Beckett to John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and other highly regarded postmodernist figures. Finally, they explore the implications of Rand's ideas for the issues of government and corporate support of the arts, art law, and arts education.
[from the back cover]
What Art Is is the first book-length examination of Rand's little-known theory of art.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Traditional Meanings of the Term "Art"
What the Ordinary Person Thinks
The Cartoonists
The Journalists
Prime-TimeTelevision
The Ubiquitous Question: "But Is It Art?"
The Experts Speak
The Art Historians
The Critics
Need for a Valid Theory and Definition of Art
The Default of Philosophy
Ayn Rand's Theory of Art
The Status of Rand Studies
Overview of the Present Study
PART I - AYN RAND'S PHILOSOPHY OF ART
Chapter 1: "The Psycho-Epistemology of Art"
The Purpose of Art
Metaphysical Value-Judgments
Rand's Definition of Art
The Cognitive Function of Art
The Creative Process
Art, Religion, and Philosophy
Art and Ethics
Romanticism and Naturalism
"Efficacy of Consciousness"
Chapter 2: "Philosophy and Sense of Life"
Emotional Abstraction
Philosophy and Sense of Life
Sense of Life and Character
Sense of Life in Love and Art
Chapter 3: "Art and Sense of Life"
Emotion and "Expression" in Art
"Communication" in Art
The Significance of Artistic Selectivity
The Response to Art
Subject and Meaning in Art
Style
Style and "Efficacy of Consciousness"
Esthetic Judgment
Chapter 4: "Art and Cognition"
Literature
Painting and Sculpture
The Performing Arts
Dance
The Role of the Director
The Art of Film
The Arts and Cognition
"Modern Art"
Chapter 5: Music and Cognition
Music and Emotion
Music and Sense of Life
Rand's Mistaken Hypothesis
The Importance of Melody
The Composer's Viewpoint
Music as a "Re-Creation of Reality"
The Symphony Orchestra
Avant-Garde "Music"
Chapter 6: The Definition of Art
Anti-Essentialism in Contemporary Philosophy
The "Institutional" Definition of Art
The "Appeal to Authority"
The Rules of Definition
Rand's Definition of Art
Chapter 7: Scientific Support for Rand's Theory
Human Evolution and Prehistoric Art
The Fundamentality of Mimesis
Anthropological Perspectives
The Integrative Nature of Perception
The Psychology and Physiology of Emotion
Neurological Case Studies
The Modular Mind and the Diversity of the Arts
Clinical Psychology--Madness and Modernism
PART II - EXTENSION AND APPLICATION OF RAND'S THEORY
Chapter 8: The Myth of "Abstract Art"
Pioneers: Kandinsky, Malevich, and Mondrian
Mind Divorced from Matter: The"Primacy of Consciousness"
Collective Aspirations: The "Universal" vs. the "Individual"
Absolute Subjectivism
"Decoration" vs. Art
Utopian Aspirations
A Flawed View of Human Perception and Cognition
"Intuition" in Place of Reason and Objectivity
Counterfeit Elitism and "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Freedom, Spontaneity, and "Cognitive Slippage"
Theoretical Revisionism
Meyer Schapiro
Clement Greenberg
Abstract Expressionism
Mark Rothko
Jackson Pollock
Barnett Newman
Abstract Sculpture
Polling the People
Art in the Home
Killing the Messenger
Chapter 9: Photography: An Invented "Art"
Rand's Argument
What Photography Is
Historical Considerations
Contemporary Critical Views
Postmodern Photography
Chapter 10: Architecture: "Art" or "Design"?
Rand's Theoretical Position
Batteux's Classification
D'Alembert's Error
The Nature of Architecture
Utilitarian Function
Architecture and Values
Architecture and Abstract Sculpture
Architecture as Design
Chapter 11: Decorative Art and Craft
...
- GenresPhilosophyArtNonfiction
523 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 16, 2015
This book is really, really unbalanced in more ways than one. The authors show great expertise in this area, and about 200 pages are devoted to appendices, endnotes, suggested reading, and indexes. There were (admittedly brief) sections of the book which were of great value. But a large majority of the sections were of the "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore" type. While this might make Ayn Rand Objectivists stand up and cheer, for the vast majority of us who believe subjectivism does and should play a large role in the creation and reception of art, it did get annoying, especially in the beginning of part II. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. I was introduced to a great many artists and art forms that I had not heard of before, albeit from an unsympathetic perspective. The question of what art is remains as relevant as ever, and although I vehemently disagree with the authors' (and Rand's) definition, it did provoke me to think about what I believed art to be.
June 12, 2011
I don't understand the purpose of writing this book. Hardly anything at all is said about art or Ayn Rand's views on art. The book is comprised primarily of long quotes of Ayn Rand's own writing on art, followed by the author stating that he agrees but he apologizes for Ayn Rand's serious, black and white way of putting it.
Maybe Mr. Torres should just write a book about why he dislikes Ayn Rand's absolutist way of expressing her ideas (though I myself like it). This one was pointless. If you're interested in reading about Ayn Rand's theory of art, just read "The Romantic Manifesto."
Maybe Mr. Torres should just write a book about why he dislikes Ayn Rand's absolutist way of expressing her ideas (though I myself like it). This one was pointless. If you're interested in reading about Ayn Rand's theory of art, just read "The Romantic Manifesto."
September 17, 2012
Baahhh!!! I expected a collection of Ayn Rand's writing, not a couple of people's impressions of what she wrote or might have thought. Let me figure it out for myself, thank-you!
I give 1-star for an interesting lavender shade cloth cover, and smooth-cut pages. This will make a good storage box, once I cut out the rubbish interior, and insert a box and lining.
I give 1-star for an interesting lavender shade cloth cover, and smooth-cut pages. This will make a good storage box, once I cut out the rubbish interior, and insert a box and lining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews