Jeff Lawrence on tue 4 dec 01
Wesley Rolley wrote:
According to Sontag (On Style), it began with the ancient Greeks
and we can blame it on Plato, who found no use far Art in his Ideal
society. Therefore, if something were useful, it could not be artistic.
After all art was just an imitation of the real which was itself an
imitation of the ideal. Of course, it was another Greek, Aristotle, who
found a use for art (Poetics). It was really therapy (for the viewer,
not the artist.) Twenty-five centuries later, we are stuck with it.
Hi Wesley,
Susan Sontag has a reputation as an iconoclast and I suspect her
refreshingly singular interpretation of Plato and Aristotle may derive more
from a desire for a snappy bon mot than any understanding of those writers.
Jeff Lawrence
jml@cybermesa.com
Wesley Rolley on tue 4 dec 01
This weekend, being chilly, gray, drippy, and normal Puget Sound weather=
=20
in my normally drier section of California, I took the opportunity to si=
t=20
under a kotatsu (a Japanese term for a heat lamp under a table with=20
blankets draped over to retain the heat), listen to Rachmaninoff and=20=
Chopin played by Martha Argerich and read some things that I should have=
=20
read long ago. In this case, it was a book of early (1963-66) essays by =
Susan Sontag and she answered some questions for me. One was where did =
the division between usefulness and art enter the philosophies of the=20=
West. According to Sontag (On Style), it began with the ancient Greeks =
and we can blame it on Plato, who found no use far Art in his Ideal=20
society. Therefore, if something were useful, it could not be artistic. =
=20
After all art was just an imitation of the real which was itself an=20
imitation of the ideal. Of course, it was another Greek, Aristotle, who=
=20
found a use for art (Poetics). It was really therapy (for the viewer,=20=
=A0
not the artist.) Twenty-five centuries later, we are stuck with it.
Have to finish that book and see if Sontag has a cure.=20
Richard Jeffery on tue 4 dec 01
I'm confused..
you under the table with the heater, or do the blankets just cover your
knees?
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Wesley Rolley
Sent: 04 December 2001 16:26
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Blame it on the Greeks (Ancient)
This weekend, being chilly, gray, drippy, and normal Puget Sound weather
in my normally drier section of California, I took the opportunity to sit
under a kotatsu (a Japanese term for a heat lamp under a table with
blankets draped over to retain the heat), listen to Rachmaninoff and
Chopin played by Martha Argerich and read some things that I should have
read long ago. In this case, it was a book of early (1963-66) essays by
Susan Sontag and she answered some questions for me. One was where did
the division between usefulness and art enter the philosophies of the
West. According to Sontag (On Style), it began with the ancient Greeks
and we can blame it on Plato, who found no use far Art in his Ideal
society. Therefore, if something were useful, it could not be artistic.
After all art was just an imitation of the real which was itself an
imitation of the ideal. Of course, it was another Greek, Aristotle, who
found a use for art (Poetics). It was really therapy (for the viewer,
not the artist.) Twenty-five centuries later, we are stuck with it.
Have to finish that book and see if Sontag has a cure.
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