We value art because of its expressive qualities

Chatterton:

Romanticism movement: Eulogised nature, mankind and emotions (Shirley, Beethoven.) Opposite to the scientific views of mankind as machine like.

Song from Aella

Chatterton was clearly conveying the human emotion of .....

1.Romantic artists had to feel the emotion and channel it into their art.

2. To convey the emotion within the art to the reader, observer or listener

We are all familiar with a work of art that has affected us emotionally.

Watch: Moulin Rouge Tango de RoxanneThe ending of the boy in the stripped pyjamas.

More traditional examples: Wagner's opera is powerful

Hardy’s Tess of D'Urbervilles is tragic

Emotion (a Feeling) Form (aesthetic qualities)

Inform (truth)

Are there more emotions on your list?

Is art primarily concern with conveying an expressive value?

The earliest account of art and emotion was given by Aristotle.

He described Greek drama as catharsis. (Purging/cleansing)

The observer would enter the theatre, go through the tragic and emotional events with the characters and become purged of those emotions, (get them out of their system)

Read extract p107

What is Tolstoy saying about the value of art?

What is valuable art according to Tolstoy?

Give an example of art that Tolstoy would find valuable and an example of a work of art that Tolstoy would not value.

Croce (1866-1952)

Intuition allows the mind to grasp the essence of the art without having to logically think it through.

If the art expresses a pure emotion that the observer can become absorbed in, this is good art.

The art must express the emotion in good quality.

E.g. In a love poem, it is not about how MUCH the poet is in love but the TYPE of love he is attempting to convey is noble, selfless and even unrequited.

Would abstract art be OK with Croce?

However, how are we to ever know if our understanding of the artists impression is the right understanding?

Does it matter if we are wrong?

Does art become art as soon as the artist begins to create the piece or when the observer takes an expression away with them.

It is more straight forward to argue that the artist will have an initial emotion he will want to convey which results in a work of art.

This art then becomes valuable as the observer finds their own emotions within that art.

Ideally both aspects are going on.