Sorry, William I didn't mean that YOU had just delivered an uncorroborated statement; I meant that I was about to deliver two of them.
In a message dated 3/8/09 3:58:28 PM, [email protected] writes: > The corroboration is that I said it. The full statement is: "William > Conger says an artwork cannot be assured by its explanation and is unlikely to be > ruined by any explanation." > > WC > > > --- On Sun, 3/8/09, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > > Subject: Re: Text and Images > > To: [email protected] > > Date: Sunday, March 8, 2009, 3:07 PM > > In a message dated 3/8/09 10:39:07 AM, > > [email protected] writes: > > > > > > > Ordinarily, an artwork cannot be assured by its > > explanation yet is unlikely > > > to be ruined by any explanation. > > > > > Two somewhat arbitrary assertions, with no great back-up > > corroboration: > > > > (1) An artist's or critic's "explanation" > > may lead to greater "understanding" > > of sorts, and "admiration" in a contemplator, but > > never to an "aesthetic > > experience" -- except of a bogus sort, like the > > shallow awe that arose in the > > minds of young readers of Eliot's "The > > Wasteland" a couple of generations ago when > > they read the "Notes" to the poem. > > > > (2) I think an artist's prouncements about the > > "meaning" or "theme" of a work > > restrict the work's apparent scope, and hobble > > viewers' imaginations. In > > fiction or theater, talk of its "meaning" tends > > to suggest the play is merely a > > useful ladder leading up to the real value: a non-fiction > > lesson. The real value > > of a play or novel or movie for me is in the multi-rung > > ladder itself, the > > story and its effects at each rung, just as it is in an > > opera or symphony. > > > > If the rungs can evoke tensions, laughter, gasps, rills of > > deep assent, a > > playwright should leave it to the viewers to find their own > > meanings and themes > > -- and they will be as various as the viewers' > > histories and receiving > > apparatuses. There is, in the end, no "the" > > meaning of any work of art. > > > > > > > > > > ************** > > Worried about job security? Check out the 5 safest jobs in > > a > > recession. > > > (http://jobs.aol.com/gallery/growing-job-industries?ncid=emlcntuscare00000002 ) > > > ************** Worried about job security? Check out the 5 safest jobs in a recession. (http://jobs.aol.com/gallery/growing-job-industries?ncid=emlcntuscare00000002 )
