The Foundations of Aristotles Theory of Art - Essay Example

Essay, Philosophy Topic: Aristotle What are the foundations of Aristotle’s theory of art? Aristotle’s views on art are the conglomeration of secular and spiritual approaches in tandem with the concepts of western philosophy. According to him, art is the honest form of representation of life. It is the combination of imagination and imitation by observing the life from the practical point of view. He articulates a definite method of evaluating art in his writing. The true object of art must represent some definite perspective or object of life, according to him. An artist gets inspiration from nature and the ever-changing world around him, he confronts new situations and develops innovative responses and those spontaneous overflows of powerful feelings energise his creative channels through art forms. An artist is born, but the process of his excellence goes on by continuous application. The unstoppable urge in the inner world of a human being is the inspirational fountain of art. What one thinks as artist’s imitation is in reality is his inner urge, not an exercise of trying to just copy what one sees and experiences. His contribution to the process of creating art is active and his inspiration to imitate is the pivotal point. He articulates three explicit methods for categorising art as an imitation of life. The first method relates to the art known in the most popular form, like a creation of color on canvas relating to a particular scenic beauty. Music also falls in this category. Acting is an important aspect of imitation of human moods and activities. Literature, both prose and poetry, are considered as a form of art. Aristotle provides particular definitions for these forms of art. He sees unity and harmony in these diverse forms of art. In the second method he mentions about the particular type of excellence of the art from in discussion. He terms this as virtue. For example, a comedy drama needs to highlight happiness and love and the tragedy must relate to the dark incidents of human life. The third method is to discuss art on the basis of theories. 2. What are the attributes of art? While articulating about the attributes of art, Socrates emerges as a philosopher with profound thinking and mentions about the essential traits of a thing and the method of distinguishing them from each other. Trait in this context has a comprehensive meaning and demands analysis and he shows his fondness for definitions to enable one to arrive at appropriate meanings. Some of the attributes in literature are: Genre and gender attributes: Aristotle tries to evolve and defend his definitions on the basis of some of the famous epics. For such comparisons he takes the literary works in pairs to give a balancing description. For example, he describes how many sub-plots contribute to providing a larger picture in an epic. Each plot has a purpose in the multiplicity of plots. Tragedy relies on a single plot. The strength and scope of an epic is more as compared to tragedy, as epic incorporates several series of events that might have happened simultaneously or may be a series of events in chronological order. Mimesis / Imitation: While commenting on the subject of art, Aristotle uses the attribute imitation often and with emphasis. An artist creates something which is already there in nature and even the thought processes in an individual’s mind a is the gift of nature with which he interacts with the object that he perceives and tries to give it the form as per his imagination. He has a defined purpose for the creation of that art piece. Each product or art/literature has proper function. For example, the purpose of tragedy is to imitate serious action and depict the human tendencies, and the price one has to pay for being egoistic. To depict the interplay of emotions and attributes of the characters, the creator of art constructs the plot and characteristion accordingly as he has to drive the readers towards the final meaning of the plot and which should be normally acceptable to them. 3. How are these attributes known? Aristotle favors unified literary traits, but he is aware that such fixed definitions are to limit the freedom of an artist. As such he is not against complexity. It is not the responsibility of an artist to fulfil the expectations of the viewers. The viewers are also not of uniform mentality and their needs are complex. So an artist may introduce complex situations in his work, out of conviction or as a matter of deliberate ploy to appeal to the gallery. Often simple explanations create deep impact than profound philosophical truths. Any attempt to define attributes of inspirational poetry may not be successful as it is difficult to define what poetry baffles definition is within the mind of the “mad” poet, and each poet sees a new horizon. For a particular scenic beauty, poets may react differently, as per the level of their literary progression and depth of understanding. Talent is a great asset and it is not subject to any boundaries. Such artists are the creators of history, and not the routine products. They own talent beyond talent and they are brilliant amongst the brilliants. Positivity and determination are two attributes that go hand and hand. For a true artist there is nothing like the downward spiral and upward spiral, because he revels in the world of inner glory and secular considerations and monetary gains are meaningless to him. Having discussed the ancillary attributes of art, Aristotle concludes with the fundamentals by stating his views on the teleology of nature. In any field of art, according to Aristotle, rationality demands the pivotal position and the aim of the human being to fulfil it, which leads to good life. But this is a contentious issue, as the presumption that there is nothing beyond rationality is fallacious, as many artists ravel min the spiritual dimension that defies rationality. 4. What is the function of art? The function of art according to Aristotle is to satisfy the craze of the particular individual for a particular form of art. He fulfils dual responsibilities. Firstly to inner urges and secondly to the societal needs. Inner urge is the dominant aspect to give vent to the creativity that is surging in the heart of an artist, writer poet or to whichever form of art that one adores. No one can limit the function of art, and its boundaries are undefinable. Freedom is the essence of art and if restrictions are put on the creativity of art, what emerges from the pen of a writer, or the brush of a painter, is false and counterfeit representation of imitation of nature. Aristotle provides explanation for his different expectations about a particular art form. For example a literary creation needs to have a beginning, middle and end appropriately linked, and that linkage must lead to a just conclusion, acceptable to the readers. The writing should not he dreary and purposeless, and it must accomplish a goal. The structure of the plot gains importance in the scheme of things elucidated by Aristotle and the expectations of the readers should not be betrayed normally and a careful ply on the emotions is the hallmark of a good writer. Even in situations of misfortune, pity and fear, an artist must provide intellectual satisfaction. Even while depicting negativities, an artist must drive towards a positive goal. Perceptive interpretation of the situations is more important, whether they are good or bad. For example, in a drama even for a murder committed, appropriate and acceptable reasons needs to be given, and the writer should not ravel in chaotic conditions. Life is a conglomeration of incidents, and the process of their happenings goes on without intermission and the function of an artist is to catch those moments in a presentable form and inform/entertain the readers. Read More