Page 54 - Studio International - October 1969

Art after from the times of Thales, Epicurus, Heraclitus, `Everything sculpture has, my work doesn't.' —
and Aristotle to Descartes and Leibnitz, 'the Donald Judd (1967).
philosophy great names in philosophy were often great `The idea becomes a machine that makes the
names in science as well.'4
art' — Sol LeWitt (1965).
That the world as perceived by twentieth- `The one thing to say about art is that it is one
century science is a vastly more different one thing. Art is art-as-art and everything else is
Joseph Kosuth than the one of its preceding century, need not everything else. Art as art is nothing but art.
be proved here. Is it possible, then, that in Art is not what is not art.'—Ad Reinhardt
effect man has learned so much, and his (1963).
`intelligence' is such, that he cannot believe the `The meaning is the use.'—Wittgenstein.
reasoning of traditional philosophy? That `A more functional approach to the study of
perhaps he knows too much about the world concepts has tended to replace the method of
`The fact that it has recently become fashion- to make those kinds of conclusions ? As Sir introspection. Instead of attempting to grasp
able for physicists themselves to be sympa- James Jeans has stated : or describe concepts bare, so to speak, the
thetic towards religion... marks the physicists' ... When philosophy has availed itself of the psychologist investigates the way in which
own lack of confidence in the validity of their results of science, it has not been by borrowing they function as ingredients in beliefs and in
hypotheses, which is a reaction on their part the abstract mathematical description of the judgements.'—Irving M. Copi.
from the anti-religious dogmatism of nine- pattern of events, but by borrowing the then `Meaning is always a presupposition of func-
teenth-century scientists, and a natural out- current pictorial description of this pattern; tion.' —T. Segerstedt.
come of the crisis through which physics has thus it has not appropriated certain knowledge ... the subject-matter of conceptual investiga-
just passed.'—A. J. Ayer. but conjectures. These conjectures were often tions is the meaning of certain words and ex-
... once one has understood the Tractatus there good enough for the man-sized world, but not, pressions—and not the things and states of
will be no temptation to concern oneself any as we now know, for those ultimate processes affairs themselves about which we talk, when
more with philosophy, which is neither of nature which control the happenings of the using those words and expressions.'—G. H.
empirical like science nor tautological like man-sized world, and brings us nearest to the Von Wright.
mathematics; one will, like Wittgenstein in true nature of reality.'5 He continues: `Thinking is radically metaphoric. Linkage by
1918, abandon philosophy, which, as tradi- `One consequence of this is that the standard analogy is its constituent law or principle, its
tionally understood, is rooted in confusion.' — philosophical discussions of many problems, causal nexus, since meaning only arises
J. 0. Urmson. such as those of causality and freewill or of through the causal contexts by which a sign
Traditional philosophy, almost by definition, materialism or mentalism, are based on an stands for (takes the place of) an instance of a
has concerned itself with the unsaid. The nearly interpretation of the pattern of events which sort. To think of anything is to take it as of a
exclusive focus on the said by twentieth-century is no longer tenable. The scientific basis of sort (as a such and such) and that 'as' brings
analytical linguistic philosophers is the shared these older discussions has been washed away, in (openly or in disguise) the analogy, the
contention that the unsaid is unsaid because it and with their disappearance have gone all the parallel, the metaphoric grapple or ground or
is unsayable. Hegelian philosophy made sense arguments ... '6 grasp or draw by which alone the mind takes
in the nineteenth century and must have been The twentieth century brought in a time hold. It takes no hold if there is nothing for it
soothing to a century that was barely getting which could be called 'the end of philosophy to haul from, for its thinking is the haul, the
over Hume, the Enlightenment, and Kant.' and the beginning of art'. I do not mean that, attraction of likes.'—I. A. Richards.
Hegel's philosophy was also capable of giving of course, strictly speaking, but rather as the In this section I will discuss the separation
cover for a defence of religious beliefs, supply- `tendency' of the situation. Certainly linguistic between aesthetics and art; consider briefly
ing an alternative to Newtonian mechanics, philosophy can be considered the heir to Formalist art (because it is a leading pro-
and fitting in with the growth of history as a empiricism, but it's a philosophy in one gear.? ponent of the idea of aesthetics as art), and
discipline, as well as accepting Darwinian And there is certainly an 'art condition' to art assert that art is analogous to an analytic
Biology.2 He appeared to give an acceptable preceding Duchamp, but its other functions or proposition, and that it is art's existence as a
resolution to the conflict between theology and reasons-to-be are so pronounced that its ability tautology which enables art to remain 'aloof'
science, as well. to function clearly as art limits its art condi- from philosophical presumptions.
The result of Hegel's influence has been that tion so drastically that it's only minimally art.8 It is necessary to separate aesthetics from art
a great majority of contemporary philosophers In no mechanistic sense is there a connection because aesthetics deals with opinions on per-
are really little more than historians of philo- between philosophy's 'ending' and art's ception of the world in general. In the past one
sophy, Librarians of the Truth, so to speak. `beginning', but I don't find this occurence of the two prongs of art's function was its
One begins to get the impression that there entirely coincidental. Though the same value as decoration. So any branch of philo-
`is nothing more to be said.' And certainly if reasons may be responsible for both occurences sophy which dealt with 'beauty' and thus,
one realizes the implications of Wittgenstein's the connection is made by me. I bring this all taste, was inevitably duty bound to discuss art
thinking, and the thinking influenced by him up to analyse art's function and subsequently as well. Out of this 'habit' grew the notion
and after him, 'Continental' philosophy need its viability. And I do so to enable others to that there was a conceptual connection be-
not seriously be considered here.3 understand the reasoning of my—and, by ex- tween art and aesthetics, which is not true.
Is there a reason for the 'unreality' of philo- tension, other artists'—art, as well to provide a This idea never drastically conflicted with
sophy in our time? Perhaps this can be art'.9 clearer understanding of the term 'Conceptual artistic considerations before recent times, not
answered by looking into the difference be- only because the morphological characteristics
tween our time and the centuries preceding of art perpetuated the continuity of this error,
us. In the past man's conclusions about the THE FUNCTION OF ART but as well, because the apparent other 'func-
world were based on the information he had `The main qualifications to the lesser position tions' of art (depiction of religious themes,
about it —if not specifically like the Empiricists, of painting is that advances in art are certainly portraiture of aristocrats, detailing of archi-
then generally like the Rationalists. Often in not always formal ones.'—Donald Judd (1963). tecture, etc.) used art to cover up art.
fact, the closeness between science and philo- `Half or more of the best new work in the last When objects are presented within the context
sophy was so great that scientists and philo- few years has been neither painting nor sculp- of art (and until recently objects always have
sophers were one and the same person. In fact, ture.' —Donald Judd (1965). been used) they are as eligible for aesthetic con-