Since there seems to be some interest in conducting another reading group, I thought that I might suggest something by Jacques Rancihre. Perhaps we could read his Politics of Aesthetics<http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Aesthetics-Jacques-Ranciere/dp/0826 489540/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254066930&sr=8-1>. I would also be interested in either his Film Fables<http://www.amazon.com/Fables-Talking-Images-Jacques-Ranciere/dp/184520 168X/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254066992&sr=1-15>(perhaps a bit expensive), or finishing a reading of the Future of the Image<http://www.amazon.com/Future-Image-Jacques-Ranciere/dp/1844672972/ref=p d_bxgy_b_text_b>that was started some years ago, but was stymied. Would anyone be interested?
For what it is worth, I do not think that questions of ontology are particularly pressing. In fact, I think that Danto has solved the problem (i.e. the distinguishing feature of art is conceptual, not perceptual), although I may not agree with all of the conclusions he draws from his solution.
