num_pages: 523
description: ABSTRACTWhat is art? The arts establishment has a simple answer: anything is art if a reputed artist or expert says it is. Though many people are skeptical about the alleged new art forms that have proliferated since the early twentieth century, today's critics claim that all such work, however incomprehensible, is art.A groundbreaking alternative to this view is provided by philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand (1905-1982). Best known as the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Rand also created an original and illuminating theory of art, which confirms the widespread view that much of today's purported art is really not art at all.In What Art Is, Torres and Kamhi present a lucid introduction to Rand's esthetic theory, contrasting her ideas with those of other thinkers. They conclude that, in its basic principles, her account is compelling, and is corroborated by evidence from anthropology, neurology, cognitive science, and psychology.The authors apply Rand's theory to a debunking of the work of prominent modernists and postmodernists--from Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, and Samuel Beckett to John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and other highly regarded postmodernist figures. Finally, they explore the implications of Rand's ideas for the issues of government and corporate support of the arts, art law, and arts education.[from the back cover]What Art Is is the first book-length examination of Rand's little-known theory of art.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionTraditional Meanings of the Term "Art"What the Ordinary Person Thinks The Cartoonists The Journalists Prime-TimeTelevisionThe Ubiquitous Question: "But Is It Art?"The Experts Speak The Art Historians The CriticsNeed for a Valid Theory and Definition of Art The Default of PhilosophyAyn Rand's Theory of ArtThe Status of Rand StudiesOverview of the Present StudyPART I - AYN RAND'S PHILOSOPHY OF ARTChapter 1: "The Psycho-Epistemology of Art"The Purpose of ArtMetaphysical Value-JudgmentsRand's Definition of ArtThe Cognitive Function of ArtThe Creative ProcessArt, Religion, and PhilosophyArt and EthicsRomanticism and Naturalism"Efficacy of Consciousness"Chapter 2: "Philosophy and Sense of Life"Emotional AbstractionPhilosophy and Sense of LifeSense of Life and CharacterSense of Life in Love and ArtChapter 3: "Art and Sense of Life"Emotion and "Expression" in Art"Communication" in ArtThe Significance of Artistic SelectivityThe Response to ArtSubject and Meaning in ArtStyle Style and "Efficacy of Consciousness"Esthetic JudgmentChapter 4: "Art and Cognition"LiteraturePainting and SculptureThe Performing Arts Dance The Role of the DirectorThe Art of FilmThe Arts and Cognition"Modern Art"Chapter 5: Music and CognitionMusic and EmotionMusic and Sense of LifeRand's Mistaken HypothesisThe Importance of MelodyThe Composer's ViewpointMusic as a "Re-Creation of Reality"The Symphony OrchestraAvant-Garde "Music"Chapter 6: The Definition of ArtAnti-Essentialism in Contemporary PhilosophyThe "Institutional" Definition of Art The "Appeal to Authority"The Rules of DefinitionRand's Definition of ArtChapter 7: Scientific Support for Rand's TheoryHuman Evolution and Prehistoric ArtThe Fundamentality of MimesisAnthropological PerspectivesThe Integrative Nature of PerceptionThe Psychology and Physiology of EmotionNeurological Case StudiesThe Modular Mind and the Diversity of the ArtsClinical Psychology--Madness and ModernismPART II - EXTENSION AND APPLICATION OF RAND'S THEORYChapter 8: The Myth of "Abstract Art"Pioneers: Kandinsky, Malevich, and Mondrian Mind Divorced from Matter: The"Primacy of Consciousness" Collective Aspirations: The "Universal" vs. the "Individual" Absolute Subjectivism "Decoration" vs. Art Utopian Aspirations A Flawed View of Human Perception and Cognition "Intuition" in Place of Reason and Objectivity Counterfeit Elitism and "The Emperor's New Clothes" Freedom, Spontaneity, and "Cognitive Slippage"Theoretical Revisionism Meyer Schapiro Clement GreenbergAbstract Expressionism Mark Rothko Jackson Pollock Barnett NewmanAbstract SculpturePolling the People Art in the Home Killing the MessengerChapter 9: Photography: An Invented "Art"Rand's ArgumentWhat Photography IsHistorical ConsiderationsContemporary Critical Views Postmodern PhotographyChapter 10: Architecture: "Art" or "Design"?Rand's Theoretical PositionBatteux's ClassificationD'Alembert's ErrorThe Nature of Architecture Utilitarian Function Architecture and Values Architecture and Abstract Sculpture Architecture as DesignChapter 11: Decorative Art and CraftRand's ViewHistorical InfluencesAmerican Indian ArtifactsQuilts and Feminist Art HistoryThe Arts and Artifacts of AfricaContemporary Crafts as "Art"Chapter 12: Avant-Garde Music and DanceAvant-Garde Trends in Music Atonality Serialism Minimalism John CageAvant-Garde Dance: Merce CunninghamDance: The "Silent Partner of Music"Cunningham's Progeny If It Moves, It Must Be Dance Constrained Movement as Dance "Discussing the Undiscussable"Ice DancingChapter 13: The Literary Arts and FilmJames JoyceSamuel BeckettJohn AshberyThe Art of Film Harrow AlleyChapter 14: Postmodernism in the "Visual Arts"The Long Shadow of DuchampPop ArtConceptual ArtAssemblage Art and Installation ArtPerformance ArtVideo ArtPostmodernism and PhotographyThe Future: Art and TechnologyChapter 15: Public ImplicationsGovernment Subsidy of the ArtsCorporate SupportArt and the LawTeaching the Arts to Children Discipline-Based Art Education Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Cautionary Tale The "Core-Knowledge" Program "The Educated Child" A Radical AlternativeAppendix A - New Forms of ArtA glossary of purported new art forms invented in the twentieth century.Appendix B - Artworld Buzz WordsA sampler of the meaningless jargon of the arts establishment, employed in discussions of work that is not, in fact, art.Appendix C - The New York Times--"The Arts"Headlines and quotations from reviews, reflecting promiscuous use of the term "arts."NotesBibliographyIndex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
language: English
title: What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand
titlecomplete: What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand
genres: Nonfiction, Art, Philosophy
ratings_count: 27
publisher: Open Court