Foundation of Aristotle Art Theories - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review Foundation of Aristotle Art theories In the paper Poetics, the basis of Aristotle art theories seems to be based on imitation of both real world and nature compared to interpretation of aesthetic or psychological premises. Aristotle artistic imitation premises are grounded on three foundations and which are medium, objects and ways of human life imitation. In essence, through the discernment of art, Aristotle argues that one is able to acquire a certain perception of the actuality of nature. Firstly, the foundation of art in Poetics is based on man intuition for both harmony and rhythm, and Aristotle observes that these two intuitions are then developed into different directions based on individual character, and the level of the artist special skills (Aristotle 1). In particular, he considers works of art like flute music, comedy and epic poetry to be modes of imitation, which characterizes several objects in form of color, voice and form. To Aristotle, the basis of art is a component of every object, such that the dissimilarity between form and real world is intellectual (Aristotle 1). For instance, Aristotle considers poetry to be an expression of either decent action, imitation of bad actions, or expression of individuals lampooning each other. Aristotle asserts that by valuing art, the observer acquires definitive cognitive value given that items of imitation are simply actions undertaken by either man of elevated or lesser moral characters. Since the forms of imitation in art display the moral differences, such variations are distinguished in works of art by the representation of men as either better or worse (Aristotle 2). As such, the manner in which art forms like dancing, painting or lyre-playing are imitated is based on the artist use of narration, the level of conversation in his or her own person, or the way the artist presents each of the characters as living and moving before the viewers (Aristotle 3). Attributes of Art One attribute of art as observed by Aristotle is that imitations are generated individually or collectively via rhythm, language, and harmony (Aristotle 1). Since art conceives what is feasible within the human society or universal experiences, it is not the function of the artist to relate what has taken place, but rather to relate what may occur based on probability and inevitable edicts (Aristotle 7). For instance, he argues that while music made from flute or lyre is based on both harmony and rhythm, when it comes to dancing the art is just the rhythm that is applied by the imitation of personality, emotions, and actions (Aristotle 7). In this regard, by pointing out that poetry tends to illustrate the universal, he seems to assert that a major attribute of art is that it is philosophical and only appeals to the disruptive part of humanity. The second attribute of art is tragedy, and Aristotle observes that they are present as imitations that are solemn and in situations that generate pity or fear (Aristotle 8). For example, he considers King Oedipus to be an ideal tragedy as a character since he goes through several accidents along with unforeseeable events before going through a pitiful ending, and this serves to demonstrate art as a representation of human life weaknesses. In particular, Aristotle considers plot and character to be the principles of tragedy that serves to illustrate how men confront adversity via emotions of apprehension and shame. He also observes that since in tragedy cannot be imitated in various action lines concurrently, then the poet should confine his or herself to actions performed on stage or those taken by performers. However, he considers thoughts to be critical in arts, since thoughts help artists to converse their daily life incidences in languages that illustrates moral purposes, and Aristotle points out the rhetoric used in political art which seeks to convey emotive issues that touch on civic life (Aristotle 6). Furthermore, Aristotle observes that plot is a major portion of arts since it helps to build dramatic principles that are plain or composite, decent or pathetic, or scenes showing suffering, recognition or setbacks (Aristotle 21). Thirdly, Aristotle argues that objective beauty is a major attribute of art since universal distinctiveness makes art to be beautiful in terms of scale and order. As such, artist should use probable impossibilities rather than doubtful possibilities and which then makes tragic plot not to have irrational parts (Aristotle 22). Thus, he asserts that the major feature of beauty in art is order, symmetry and certainty. How Attributes of Arts Are Known According to Aristotle, characteristics of arts lye deep inside human nature, with each human having an instinctive ability to imitate and also to learn and experience issues. To Aristotle, every human as the tendency to experience harmony and rhythm, and in effect, art manifestly expresses both of them. While experiences are acquired through observing objects with pain or delight, learning generates art from human pleasures (Aristotle 3). The other way in which Aristotle observes that attributes of arts are known is by dramatic incidents and speeches whereby an item is made to stir up a sense of pity, apprehension, significance, and probability (Aristotle 10). However, he argues that while events represent themselves without oral exhibition, artists in form of speech represent directed effects. For example, he compares poetry to learning of history and he argues that while history focuses on specific occurrences, poetry concentrates on universal human experiences. Since art is more hypothetical, Aristotle argues that plots are represented in terms of dramatic principles whereby subjects are in solitary actions but with a start, central point and endings. Hence, Aristotle argues the intention should be to resemble living organisms in each one of its unity (Aristotle 20). Secondly, Aristotle observes that attributes of art are represented ends that are within narrower limits, so that intense effects are more pleasurable rather than having extensive spreads. For instance, when a story is based on stringent unity it should be concisely expressed while appearing truncated through suitable gestures and emotions, which are expressed via natural sympathies and the personality they represent. Function of Art Aristotle argues that there exists a concise link between nature and functions of art in relation to both tragedy and drama. Aristotle observes that the function of art is to imitate several objects as they are, said, and perceived to be. Thus, a major function of art is to imitate actions or life event of persons with certain characteristic qualities in terms of personality and thought (Aristotle 6). Art incidents ought to speak for themselves exclusive of verbal description, such that the object arouses a sense of compassion, fear, significance, or probability (Aristotle 15). He argues that the purpose of art is to be comparable to living organism but in its entire unity, in order to bring about satisfactions that are proper to it (Aristotle 20). Art is simply a dramatization of decent and flawed life as it seeks to enlighten on what individuals hold to be reality in the most of actual tragedies. Since artists operate through imitation and thoughts, then the ultimate function is attuning of a certain society moral identity. Hence, the function of art differs from purpose of history since it depicts not just a lone action or period but also the every event that takes place to the characters within that period (Aristotle 7). Works Cited Aristotle. (1907). Poetics. Ed. Daniel C Stevenson. Trans. S H Butcher. Internet Classics Archive, 1994. Read More