general
principles of the arts in terms of evolved adaptations"
"i want to sketch the general characteristics that inhere in the
very
greatest
works of art, the masterpieces that have withstood Hume's test
of time"
1. Complexity: "presenting audiences with the highest degree of
meaning-complexity that the mind can grasp"
"complexity does not mean complicatedness but rather the densely
significant
interrelations of, say, poetry, plotting, and dramatic rhythm
in a play
like
"King Lear"
"artistic masterpieces fuse layer upon layer of meaning into a
single,
unified, self-enhancing whole"
"the greatest works of art unite every aspect of human
experience:
intellect
and the will, but also emotions and human values of every kind
(including
ugliness and evil)
"the finest works of art draw us into them in order to yield up
the deep,
intricate imaginative experiences. They are marked by the utmost
lucidity
and
coherence"
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.
Which doesn't mean that such lesser things cannot be valuable and
important
-
but only that they offer less.
And I would tend to agree.
More is more.
A full meal can be more satisfying than any snack. (even if you
love
snacks)
2.Serious Content: "The themes of great works are love, death,
and
human
fate."
"Artistic masterpieces need not be solemn and can end
joyfully ...but
even
when they do, they are not merely jolly and amusing, and offer an
implicit
nod, if not to a darker side of human existence, then at least
to what
might
be termed a realistic view of the finitude of life and aspiration"
"the arts that do not attain greatness through prettiness or
attractiveness
can be illustrated by considering the ambiguous place of sexual
acts in
art"
Which, again, would locate all purely instrumental music and
abstract
painting somewhere lower than "the high white peaks of art"
That sounds a bit severe - but after all -- nobody, except Buddhist
monks,
can live on mountaintops forever.
I do question his exclusion of eroticism, however - and Dutton
goes on
to
explicate this further:
"Sex itself is just too simple...pure eroticism by itself is no
more
likely
as
a theme for great art than purely green and pleasant Pleistocene
calendar
landscapes are a likely theme for the greatest paintings. 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"
Interesting comment, don't you think?
Dutton's notion of great painting coincides with that of the French
Academy,
c. 1880. He'd let Manet;s bargirl in, but keep Monet's
landscapes out.
"The evolutionary implications of waist-to-hip ratios for art
history are
not
unlike the evolutionary implications for the presence of
sweetness in
food.
That sugars are in all cuisines -- does not mean that a bowl of
corn
syrup
will ever be dinner"
But while sugar may taste sweet to every human tongue -- the
sexual act
is
not necessarily "simple", and is not portrayed that way in the
sculptural
programs of certain medieval Hindu temples, or in the
pornographic themes
of
Ukyo-e.
But overall, I still agree with Dutton's elevation of serious
content
(even
if plenty of non-serious stuff has passed Hume's test of time -
especially
Chinese ceramcis, which I don't think have any theme at all)
3.Purpose: "authenticity of artistic purpose -- a sense that THE
ARTIST
MEANS
IT" -- and Dutton goes to Libertarian and conservative
columnist, Charles
Murray for further explanations. (taken from his book "Human
Accomplishment")
