The Foundations of Aristotle's Theory of Art - Book Report/Review Example

 Topic: Poetics by Aristotle 1. What are the foundations of his theory of art? Understanding Aristotle's views on art is toughest of the options. He tenders his explanation on art with conditions applied. He articulates his explanations by dissecting plays as tragedy and comedy. He visualizes something beyond mere entertainment. Each type of artistic expression has its own distinguishing features but tragic play discloses the bigger meaning of art. While explaining the function of art, Aristotle takes into account two important features, namely the effects and purpose of the tragic play. While attempting to explain the foundations of his theory of art, Aristotle makes the liberal use of the word imitation and highlights its importance. The impact of imitation is profound and it creates permanent impressions and is conducive to progress of art. An individual takes to imitation right from childhood. Imitation is freely imparted education and beneficiary is the individual who is willing to learn that art. This learning comes by naturally and not through any compulsion. One learns it in the college of self-education, and the imitation process goes on without an individual making conscious efforts for the same. The process of imitation gets momentum, if one makes deliberate attempts to imitate, by observation and practice. The situations that he confronts in life are his teachers and they make him understand the lessons of imitation. In every aspect of life, at every stage of life man learns by imitation. Imitation may be deliberate or involuntary but the process of learning goes on without intermission, at times, even without the individual knowing that he is involved in the process of imitation. It offers a permanent place for learning and teaching and through this process an individual comprehends the universal meaning of art. Learning leads to creativity and better art forms emerge from that individual as he fine-tunes his abilities by constant imitation which is the foundation of art. 2. What are the attributes of art? Aristotle articulates that art should be both beautiful and purposeful. Having said this, the immediate question that challenges this statement is, whether beauty is the essential component of art. Can a repulsive and distressing art work deserve to be hailed as art? Aristotle tries to answer this question by describing the purpose of art. Meaning, what benefits people get by supporting art and what are their expectations. For judging gain or loss from that particular art, an individual needs to know the attributes of art. Once they are known, an individual can reason out whether they are fair or unfair from the perceptiveness of the wellness of the human being and broadly, will they serve the greater cause of the welfare of humankind. The debates about the attributes of art and its benefits to humankind have been going on since time immemorial. That debate is lively and kicking even today. There are strong disagreements amongst the renowned philosophers about the attributes and consequent benefits of art. Plato and Aristotle are at loggerheads on this issue. The former argues that art has no place in an ideal society, whereas the latter lauds its moral and educational attributes and as such he concedes that it has great value to the society. Some philosophers keep art at the highest step of the spiritual ladder that will lead to salvation. Aristotle takes the middle course, by stating that it has philosophical as well as secular merits. According to him, it definitely relives the man from the boring, tortuous secular activities and provides an outlet for the emotions and enthralls the inner world of an individual who has the capacity to appreciate the work of art. Thus, art is the twice-blessed object. It provides joy to the creator of art as well as to the one who has the large heart to appreciate its finer aspects and subtle meanings. 3. How are these attributes known? It is not possible to segregate the attributes or characteristics of an artwork neatly, and they all must contribute to the beauty and perfection of art as per their respective spheres of influence. Again imitation, clubbed with past experience on the subject of art, is the mainstay. An artist does not create—he recreates that which is already there in nature. He only gives the different form, as per his thought processes. He re-searches which exists in the bosom of nature. An artist’s creation depends upon his metaphysical judgments and his level of progression. He identifies and defines the rich diversity in nature, and tries to do justice to what he visualizes in his mental horizon. For example, the same flower, rose, may be created in different designs, sizes and with different backgrounds, to convey different meanings. Similarly poetry on the same subject, for example “love”, may produce different types of feelings, in tandem with the emotions that sprout in the inner world of the poet. The attributes of are subject to many pressures which exercise their influence from all possible directions, and their sum total gives shape to the final product. A good piece of art indicates high degree of inner involvement by the artist and it is the product of his imitative capability. Imitation is not a simple job as normally implied by this word. Imitation is parallel creation that contributes to revealing the history of the era. It is like an historical chapter and may represent the mindset of the humankind of the era to which the work of art belongs. It may serve as an asset for the future historians and sociologists. An art work needs to pronounce a defined function though at times the services of highly intelligent critics may be needed to interpret as to what exactly might have gone into the mind of the artist to create that piece of art. 4. What is the function of art? The mainstay of the description of Aristotle’s function of art is through tragedy. In Aristotle’s characterization of the structure of a tragedy there are six parts, in order of importance: Plot; Character; Thought; Diction; Song; and Spectacle. The imitation aspect, which Aristotle often highlights, is the contributing factor for the proper functioning of art. Without imitation, creation of an artwork in any form is impossibility. Imitation is not a deliberate act; it comes naturally to an artist and it is the sum-total of the impressions of his past experiences. Plot is the structure of events enacted by the different characters as per the demands of developments in the story. The choices attributed to the characters reveal their moral stand, and holds the mirror before the viewer, the prevailing state of affairs in the society, or about the intended period of history to which the artwork is supposed to belong. The disposition of each character, besides contributing to the total purpose of the artwork, highlights the particular segment of societal experience and expectations of the audience. Past events serve dual purposes as for the creation of the characters. They reflect the past and are responsible to create expectations about the future. Normally, the audience expects pleasure out of the art work, and if any other emotions are articulated, it expects proper and acceptable reasons from the artist for his forming that opinion or for taking that stand. Aristotle recognizes that different forms of art are meant to convey different levels of moral and ethical behavior. His distinction between comedy and tragedy needs to be understood in this light. The former exemplifies "noble" or "morally good" agents, while the latter portrays "ignoble" or "morally defective" characters. The important intellectual responses of the human beings are different and an artist needs to carefully imagine what he has to deliver as per societal expectations. Work Cited Aristotle, Poetics. S. H. Butcher (Trans.) n. p Read More