See today's www.artnet.com/magazine for Ben Davis on Dutton. Good slam-dunk.
wc ----- Original Message ---- From: Chris Miller <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, November 24, 2009 8:54:45 AM Subject: Re: Reading Dutton: Chapter 10 - Four Characteristics of Great Art As Dutton asserted in Chapter 4, "The interpretation is not something outside the work; work and interpretation arise together in aesthetic consciousness" So that "highest degree of meaning-complexity that the mind can grasp" is going to have to be found within the work itself, rather than within whatever various interpretive texts are linked to it. And Dutton applies a rather demanding standard for the existence of serious content a few paragraphs later when he asserts that "An enduring masterpiece that presented a perfect, pretty landscape would probably use it as, say, a background for the Expulsion from Eden than as a central subject in its own right" Even if one person may find "every aspect of human experience: intellect and the will, but also emotions and human values of every kind" in a piano sonata or abstract painting, it's likely that anyone else will find ideas, emotions, and values that are completely different. (this is the same issue that Kivy discussed as he argued that absolute music has no content at all) That why Dutton used the fusion of indisputable elements like " poetry, plotting, and dramatic rhythm in a play like "King Lear" as his example of complexity. I'm sure that Dutton would not dismiss all abstract paintings or piano sonatas as frivolous (and apparently he collects piano recordings), he just recognizes that a higher degree of complexity, and therefore greatness, is achieved elsewhere. ....................................................... >>So Dutton's notion of "great art" is Romantic, and is best exemplified by the long, dramatic works that were popular in that era. It's hard to see how a piano sonata, lyric poem, Chardin still-life, or an abstract painting could ever qualify. >As expected, you've trivialized the point again. Many abstract artworks exemplify the attributes. Why attribute your limitations to Dutton? wc ____________________________________________________________ Weight Loss Program Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/c?cp=_iTGY_9kxzSK6JNOAyEavQAAJz6c l_zTaptgNR5c8Mer1v9kAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEUgAAAAA=
