Lauren Achtemeier: I-thou in a natural setting

Another instance of I-thou on the Noland trail occurred after having had my mind expanded by all of the encounters with the interesting plants like moss and fallen trees. The experience in poem form:

I was almost out of the woods when stretch beckoned me to come closer.

I came upon a Magnolia nearing the end of its bloom

With light pink petals and flowers strewn about the leaf litter.

Beautiful, even in death

These delicate pillows of soft, pink innocence

Aged gracefully on the forest floor, like the wrinkled faces of the wisest and most satisfied souls.

The flowers on the ground were exquisite, even past their prime. These flowers did not convey anything to me through speech, yet I felt extremely touched by their presence. It was saddening to see the pink flowers on the ground left to wither, but they seemed quite fine with it. These flowers left me feeling on the same level with everything around me. It left me knowing that even as life passes out of an individual –whether it be a flower, bird, or tree –their presence lingers on, and their impact on the world is significant, even if for just a moment. Those graceful flowers on the forest floor will disappear into compost quickly, but their effect upon me will last a lifetime. Likewise, if people were to realize that small moments of intricate kindness can accumulate to positively affect a person’s life, then they might dish it out more often. My experience with the flowers left me with a handful of kindness to carry on.

Rachel Worthington: In-class Readings 5

R.G. Collingwood, in Chapter 11, further illustrates how art is not meant to be an exact replica of something. As a matter of fact, he asserts that it is means for the artist to express him/herself emotionally. One might think this to be similar to Tolstoy's view of art, but it is different. Collingwood explains how an artist goes through an intense process of analyzing their emotions so that they can identify what specifically caused them and how the are specifically being experienced. A work of art is about as individualistic as anything can be. Art can never be an exact replica of anything, otherwise it would just be a "craft". What makes art so powerful is the individuality that goes into creating it. Of course, individual emotions that artists portray are communicated through art, but this can only happen if the artist takes the time to convey that in the work. Thus, the primary goal of art is for self-expression, and the message it sends to the audience follows.

Sarah Firth, Finding Art in Science

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines science as “knowledge attained through study or practice,” or “knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, as obtained and tested through scientific method and concerned with the physical world.” Science is a practice that is designed to break things down and analyze their pieces one by one in order to gain knowledge from them. Science can be considered sterile orderly and repetitive. The procedures of science are ritualistic. The properties, rules, and scientific method are repeated like mantras or chants in scientific writing. Every trial in an experiment is tediously preformed over and over again with the unbreakable faith that the results will produce significant and useful information. When you think about it, science is a little bit like religion. There are a lot of rituals, cleansing, praying for the best, and nonsensical babbling and motions. Science even contains cryptic symbols like religion. However, the beauty of science is in the observations, the discoveries and the innovation. Because much like an artist, a scientist must build her vision in order to see it come to fruition and let it be shared with others through out the world.

Rachel Worthington: In-class Readings 4

Hegel, in chapter 6, differs from Plato and Tolstoy in the way he views art. He disagrees that it has no reason or sensibility behind it, which was Plato's argument. Plato thought that art was dangerous because it completely went against philosophy, which is the core of human existence. Hegel does not share in this point of view, and he draws conclusions as to why art actually does have reason. Plato believed that reality was the universal understanding of a certain concept. Hegel argues that art always has elements of individuality and perception, which are both necessary when sharing experiences with others. Subjectivity is important in all forms of art because it allows the essence, which is communicated through the art, to reach other viewers. By doing this, art becomes the vehicle that allows one to become more conscious of their own spirit.

Stephanie Roldan- World in Constant Flux

The world suffering from a constant state of flux has been a concept raised several times in class and relates to various aesthetic theories. Some philosophers theorize that art is a way to capture a stable moment of this constantly changing world. While this makes sense to me, I think it is important to note that art cannot be completely independent of the constantly changing flux of the natural world, because it is a construct of the natural world. While a specific painting or image may not change over time, the styles and content of paintings will change according to the culture and time period. Even dramas and written stories change and evolve over time (consider the many interpretations of Hamlet, and the versions os Wizard of Oz and Alice In Wonderland that have emerged over time). Art may serve to capture a moment in time and create a stable platform to analyze that moment, but art itself cannot retain the infinity of that moment because as different people over different time periods interact with that piece, the interpretation will change.

Rachel Worthington: In-class Readings 3

Leo Tolstoy, in Chapter 8, gives a description of art, very different from that of metaphysicians. He denies that art is a manifestation of some kind of beauty that gives pleasure to humans. In fact, he argues that it is a way in which humans can share their individual experiences with others. Tolstoy claims that art is the most necessary way to do this, even over speech. He does not believe that all art is meant to give people pleasure, and he faults thinkers like Plato for rejecting art. The purpose of art is to convey feelings, sometimes religious ones. The art itself is not what is important, but it is the message that it delivers to the audience that is most prized. To Tolstoy, art is everywhere around us. It is in the jokes we tell, the buildings we work in, the clothing we wear, decorations in our homes. Art surrounds us, and for one to reject the power of art, one also rejects the power of the individual experience.

Art as Indefinable

Clinton Bronder

Subject: Art as Indefinable

Class reading: The Nature of art: Chapter 12

April 22^nd, 2011

Morris Weitz argues that, due to the nature of the practice of art, art is indefinable. He explains by saying art is constantly evolving. Artists create creative new forms of art that disrupts the present concepts of art. However, I argue that art is definable. The fact that artist continue to make new creations and forms of expression should not disrupt the definition of art. Rather, keeping the changing nature of art in mind, we need only to realize art has a very general definition. Just as the word “animal” has a broad definition due to the millions of different species of animals that have existed and, more relevantly, will come into existence. The formation of new artistic expression should not alter the definition of art just as the coming into existence of a new species should not alter the definition of animal.