In his introduction to The Philosophy of Art History, Arnold Hauser argues that “A work of art is a communication; although it is perfectly true that the successful transmission of this requires an outward form at once effective, attractive, faultless, it is no less true that this form is insignificant apart from the message it communicates.” (p. 5) What do you think Hauser means by this statement?
Taking a slightly different approach, in her introduction to the textbook Art History, Marilyn Stokstad states, “Artists may unconsciously interpret their times, but they may also be enlisted to consciously serve social ends in ways that range from heavy-handed propaganda to subtle suggestion.” What does she mean by this claim? Do you agree? Do you think architects have to contend with similar forces? Explain your reasoning.
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*Extra-credit: If you would like a bit of extra-credit for this course, you can also submit a separate 2 page (type-written, double-spaced) response paper to Carolyn Dean’s article “The Trouble with (the Term) Art.” In this paper you should reflect on her overall argument. What problem does Dean have with the term “art”? What do you think she means by the following claim: “‘[W]hat is art?’ is the wrong question and so ought to be replaced by the query ‘when is art?’ Art historians—and not just those in non-Western fields—would then be always cognizant of the contexts in which objects were named art and, more important, the consequences of that naming.” (p. 30).
If you choose to do this extra-credit response paper, you should email me a copy of it as a Word doc or PDF before class on Jan. 21 (Week 2).