"So, presumably, she calls Vermeer a "Naturalist" because she feels no great drama in his images. Things are the way they are, they do not need to be changed. Heroic effort is not required".
The greatest drama is presented when 'drama' element is not illustrated, but in the sense of divinity above time and space. Boris Shoshensky To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Ayn Rand: Chapter 3: Art and a sense of life Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:45:24 GMT >It seems her evaluation of art and artists stops short of refined sophistication. As a writer Tolstoy is one of the best ever, but not as philosopher when he starts to do it outside the arts. Vermeer is not a naturalist, and it seems she misunderstood cubism. (Boris) So far, Boris, Rand has been reluctant to come to a singular judgment of any work other than her own. She allows that a book may have high literary quality even if it is wrong, evil, and boring, so in that sense, she might even agree that "Tolstoy is one of the best ever" (BTW -- I don't share such reluctance, and have no interest in opinions that are disconnected from strong feelings of like or dislike.) Regarding Naturalism, she writes: "The place of ethics in any given work of art depends on the metaphysical views of the artist. If, consciously or subconsciously, an artist holds the premise that man possesses the power of volition, it will lead his work to a value orientation (to Romanticism). If he holds the premise that man's fate is determined by forces beyond his control, it will lead his work to an anti-value orientation (to Naturalism)" So, presumably, she calls Vermeer a "Naturalist" because she feels no great drama in his images. Things are the way they are, they do not need to be changed. Heroic effort is not required. Is such a view unsophisticated? Regarding Cubism, her interpretation will certainly not be found in histories of art, as they are now written. Indeed, she's not so much interested in the history of art, as in the history of "sense of life". And can't a cubist painting "disintegrate man's consciousness by painting objects as man does not perceive them"? ____________________________________________________________ Click here for free info on prostate cancer prevention and treatment! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxYHukzTaT0coWYGEpx2MRCob RBHq13eG5tOHmDQK11aZYfITvl66k/
