On page 65 of The Nature of Art, Schopenhauer’s theory of art was of particular interest
to me. It states “just as the subject must be in a special state in order to appreciate art,
the art object cannot represent things in their usual mode of existence.” I immediately
thought of the scene from American Beauty where the man sees the “dancing” plastic
bag in the wind and finds it particularly beautiful. The first part of Schopenhauer’s theory
is that the subject must be in a special state. In the movie, the man is not expecting to
encounter art, which perhaps is what made it such a special experience. The second
part of the theory is that the art object cannot represent things in their usual mode of
existence. The white plastic bag was certainly not being used in its usual mode of
existence, to carry groceries or something of that nature. Instead, the bag was blowing in
the wind to appear dancing. This would also explain how some people can go to an art
gallery and not find any of the art pieces particularly striking or beautiful. People expect
to see art in an art gallery and are in a state of expectation. According to Schopenhauer,
these people wouldn’t be able to really appreciate the art-because they are expecting to
appreciate it. Nifty thinking.
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