Page 20 - Studio International - September 1970

can be no question, I think, that we see and from practical experience of judging works of multi-dimensional and not a linear concept,
admire very largely what we are taught to see art, or even of observing the actual behaviour quite apart from the reason already advanced
and admire : the existence of strongly diver- and utterance of critics. Kant had no enthusi- that has to do with the variety of cultural and
gent regional styles in the world's art is asm for the visual arts. I believe that the only historical contexts.
evidence of this, and so is the difficulty that picture he cared for was a portrait of Rousseau, First of all, actual aesthetic verdicts are not
everyone has in coming to grips with some whom he admired. He may never have had only uttered in the form 'good...so many
forms of alien art. There are cases where we the personal experience of noticing his own degrees of goodness'. They also come in the
simply do not know what to look for; how to aesthetic judgement, passed on a particular form `bad...so many degrees of badness'. It is
take what we see. work, change with time; or of tracing that true that the model here is still linear; but at
We learn to see excellence in works of art. change to the influences upon him of other least we have extended the scoring line some
Animals, so far as I know, do not admire works of art connected together by skeins of distance- in the other direction. Verdicts are
excellence in works of art—which perhaps sug- ideas and theory about art and about aesthetic both pro and con.
gests that language has a lot to do with excellence. But Mr Greenberg has surely had Secondly, aesthetic verdicts are passed on
aesthetic behaviour. And learning implies that experience; and he should be interested works of art in their genetic, their objective
teaching—or at any rate teachability. We are in an account of the aesthetic judgement that and their affective or consequential aspects;
taught by being shown examples, by being accommodates it realistically. and it is impossible to see how their 'scores'
offered arguments and given reasons, as well As matters stand for him, he has a problem in these very different respects can be
as by invitation, or pressure, to imitate the about changes of mind, and may even be registered on the same scale. Let me explain
behaviour of arbiters of taste. forced to say that the earlier judgement—or the what I mean.
No doubt all teaching relies to some extent on later (and perhaps both)—was not really an A genetic pro verdict like masterly, or a genetic
the irrational magic of authority; but the aesthetic judgement, since it must have been con verdict like incompetent, takes the work of
importance of this to critical practice can mediated by concepts, or vitiated by interest, art in relation to its maker and to the going
easily be exaggerated. I think that critics or something of the sort. If he wishes to insist standards of performance. It has to do with
should generally try to give each other better that his theory allows him changes of mind the work as seen in relation to its genetic
reason to admire this work of art or that one, about excellence, then he is half way to the setting. If we picked up the first artefact that
than their own example. And of course Mr negotiating table, with the 'subjective' prin- we found on Mars, we could not say whether
Greenberg often does give reasons—and some- ciple very seriously weakened. it was masterly or incompetent until we had
times good ones—for his verdicts. It is odd that The fourth point, that of the allegedly single discovered a good deal about Martians. We
he should nevertheless seem to be committed linear scale of artistic goodness, has already should probably be unable to determine
by his theory to thinking of these reasons as been dealt a serious blow—or so it seems to whether it was a work of art, for that matter;
pointless or irrelevant. me—by the problem of alien and non- and maybe not even whether it was an arte-
Well then: suggesting to someone that he historical styles. Let us agree, for the sake of fact or a natural object, until we had investi-
should look at a carefully chosen selection oil argument, that dada and constructivist gated the local form of life.
works of art, and that he should approach works tend to score low on the recent A verdict that refers by implication to the way
these works in a certain frame of mind, European-tradition scale of excellence (I in which viewers are moved by the work—an
attending particularly to certain features at think, on the contrary, that both movements affective verdict—is quite different. Conse-
the expense of others, will never amount to a are absurdly under-rated by Mr Greenberg, quential or affective pro verdicts are such as:
proof that one of those works is excellent. So but the difficulty that I have in mind can be stimulating, invigorating, exciting, moving, inspir-
much will probably be conceded by almost put to him in terms of his own preferences). ing, and so on. And some of the corresponding
everybody. But such a persuasive process is And the difficulty is this : where are we to consequential con verdicts are : tedious, shocking,
quite likely to have the consequence that an place pre-Columbian or Indian sculpture? frightful, appalling, dreadful, creepy, tiresome,
emotionally and rationally responsive person What of Chinese painting? Benin bronzes? boring, and so forth. And there are plenty of
will, as a matter of fact, come to agree about Korean pottery and Japanese prints? Are we neutral ones, neither obviously pro nor con,
what is and what is not excellent in art. And seriously to attempt the placing of all these like upsetting, and disturbing.
it is equally likely that if he were differently things on the one scale, opening up the Euro- Even those verdicts that seem to refer to the
taught, he would come to judge differently. pean section like a concertina so that there is work in isolation from its origins and from its
You may feel tempted to call this kind of pro- just room for Wu Chen's Bamboo Buds at consequences are more various than can
cess brainwashing: and so it is, in a way. I am 7 + +, between Bernini's St Teresa at 7+, and possibly find expression merely as degrees of
only concerned to urge that it should be the Vermeer's Lady at the Virginals at 8—? goodness. There are (pro) : excellent, first-rate,
most innocuous and open-ended brainwash- This entire model of the aesthetic-verdict superb, splendid; and (con) : poor, worthless,
ing of which the human species is capable— situation is simply preposterous. And yet... trivial, negligible, banal, and many others. It is
with all the issues set out plainly, and nobody let me remind you of Mr Greenberg's words : not in the least obvious that splendour lies on
thrust haplessly into the role of pure victim. `The only artistic value...is ... the goodness of the same scale as banality—or that this scale
Or, to put it another way, everyone is good art. There are no other artistic values may be identified with the one scale of
entitled—and indeed encouraged by the form than that... There are, of course, degrees of artistic goodness.
of the game—to wash back. goodness in art, degrees of this one and only Aesthetic verdicts may be genetic, or conse-
It is surprising that Mr Greenberg, who lays value.' quential, or neither. They may be pro or con.
much stress on the idea of developing taste by I believe that the onus of argument should be As well as all this, they may be uttered with
experience, should feel so committed to the reversed. Of the available mathematical at least three purposes, or from at least three
Kantian idea of aesthetic judgement, as being analogues for the scoring of works of art, a motives : to commend, to recommend, and to
somehow unmediated by an experience that multi-dimensional one seems so obviously to give expression to personal attitudes—with or
includes the effect upon one's judgement of fit the case that the burden of proving the un- without the ulterior purpose of urging similar
exposure to ideas, concepts and theories. The likely thesis that, despite appearances, a attitudes upon others. A verdict may work
aesthetic judgement had, for Kant, a certain simple linear model is most apt, surely lies like the award of a prize, recognizing or even
role in a total philosophical system. You with its proponents. conferring excellence. It may have the ad-
might say that it plugged a logical gap: Let me mention some of the reasons for think- visory function of drawing someone's atten-
certainly you could not say that it was derived ing that the excellence of a work of art is tion to something that he—and perhaps not