The Non-Romantic Case for Art

The Romantics see art as a transcendent force, celebrating the artist as a seer with unique insight into the universe's mysteries. This focus on inspiration is evident in Wordsworth’s description of poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" and in Novalis’s idea of "poetic intuition."

However, a defense of art can take many forms. Here are some perspectives on the value of art from thinkers outside the Romantic tradition:

Aristotle:

“The School of Athens” by Raphael 1509

"Art completes what nature cannot bring to a finish."

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

Takeaway: Art is the ultimate reality.

“Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt 1012

Oscar Wilde (Aestheticism):

"Beauty is a form of genius--is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon."

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art."

For Wilde, beauty is a valuable end in itself, rather than a means to some other end.

Takeaway: Beauty is a moral force..

Susan Sontag (Postmodernism):

“A Bar at the Folies Bergère” by Édouard Manet 1882

"In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art."

"To talk about a 'language' of photography is misleading. Photography invents its own language, which we must learn in order to read it."

Sontag challenged dominant power structures through her art.

Takeaway: Art is a language.

Walter Benjamin (Frankfurt School)

“The Night Watch” by Rembrandt 1642

"Art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth."

"The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction has no aura, because its authenticity is no longer based on the uniqueness of its existence."

Benjamin and the Frankfurt School emphasized the importance of understanding the role of culture and mass media in shaping social and political consciousness, and the potential of art to resist and challenge these dominant forces.

Takeaway: Art resists.

John Dewey (Pragmatism)

“The Gleaners” by Jean François Millet 1857

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."

"Art is the most effective mode of communications that exists."

Dewey and the pragmatists emphasized the practical and experiential dimensions of knowledge and learning, and the potential of art to help us understand and engage with the world around us.

Takeaway: Art gets things done.

Kurt Vonnegut (postmodernism, satire):

“Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh 1889

"The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake."

"All of the arts, poetry, music, ritual, the visible arts, the theater, must singly and together create the most comprehensive art of all, a humanized society, and its masterpiece, free man."

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center."

"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. You're alive. Do you understand? You're alive. You are alive. Life is priceless, you don't have to pay for it. You can't buy it, lease it, rent it, or steal it. But you can have it for free. You can enjoy the sight of a tree or the sound of a bird without paying a penny...The arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, athletics, all of it. They are your birthright. Don't let anybody take that away from you."

To Vonnegut, art is what makes us human.

Takeaway: Celebrate life through art!