Page 30 - Studio International - April 1973

confused with the discipline of aesthetics which the prevalent preferences in a population and cannot have pornographic music, but it is a
Yaffé correctly defines as 'that area of philosophy the degree to which these can be modified by matter of a priori definition that abstract
which is concerned with the language and education and other environmental factors. But painting is not pornographic.
concepts that are used to describe and evaluate in devising the relevant tests we must be careful 5. Psychological tests can reveal the causes of
works of art'. not to slip value-loaded elements and pretend pleasure. A causal chain may be traced from the
1. The most fundamental objection to the they have a purely descriptive function. Yaffé stimulus of the colour on the retina to the
experimental approach is that results of reports one such instance involving the ensuing chemical and electrical reactions in the
experiments tell us how things are, but they Maitland Graves Design Judgment Test in brain. But the aesthetician wants answers not in
cannot tell us how things ought to be, whereas which, to his surprise, 'the average score of the terms of causes, of which the subject may not
we cannot avoid importing arguments involving artist group was found to be less than that of the even be aware, but in terms of reasons. The
ought if we wish to talk about value. Only if we non-artists ! It is difficult to explain why explanation that someone says 'this is beautiful'
could settle a priori what art we ought to have performance of the test was so much less because of certain physiological changes in his
would there be any point in having experiments satisfactory in these two studies than it was for brain is no explanation at all. The aesthetician is
to see whether or not we are moving closer to the original samples chosen by Graves. Eysenck only interested in such answers as 'because it is
our goal. suggests this may be due to changes in the well-balanced', 'because it shows the moral
2. Even if we assume that art has no ulterior general climate of art education which now ascendancy of the working class' or 'because
purpose, that its success depends on the amount tends to stress simplicity and regularity more here Poussin has at last fully realized the
of quantifiable pleasure produced, we still have than in the forties.' potential of his medium'.
to decide how we are to evaluate the The insurmountable difficulty here is the The belief that psychological tests can make
physiological data. In a surgery waiting-room assumption that the components of the Graves important contributions to aesthetics, or even,
(Yaffé's example) pleasure may be tantamount test are inherently aesthetically valuable. But if as Yaffé claims, that they constitute an
to minimal arousal, but this need not be so in they are, the artists tested should not have alternative method of doing aesthetics, looks
aesthetic experience. It is the work which rejected them. Yet they have rejected them ! So plausible so long as we concentrate, as
creates maximum interest, stimulates greatest the alternative explanation, proposed by psychologists do, on the springs of creativity and
arousal, that is usually judged good. Yaffé Professor Eysenck, must be that these the spectator reactions to works of art. The
reports that Daniel Berlyne 'found his subjects components are not, after all, inherently irrelevance of such tests becomes clearer when
sought out patterns judged pleasing, beautiful, valuable. Neither Eysenck nor Yaffé seems to we turn to consider, say, the logical status of
interesting; when a pattern was rated as more realize that once this alternative is accepted, statements in fiction, the place of artistic
pleasing, the less arousing it was shown to be', these tests can no longer provide an objective intention in evaluation, the extent to which
and that those people 'avoided any pattern with measure of aesthetic value and are therefore contemplation of paintings involves being
discomforting or puzzling properties'. And yet completely useless. subjected to an illusion, or whether art works are
these same people chose 'problem-raising or Art has a history. There are times when physical objects.
otherwise conflict-inducing patterns' when they classical simplicity is preferred and there are The tests reported by Yaffé obviously absorb
sought intellectual stimulation in art. Thus we times when baroque exuberance excites the the time of able men and it is therefore
are led to conclude that art creates conflicting mind. A generation whose taste was moulded by regrettable that they should think, as they
responses of minimal and maximal arousal. And the one style will fail tests devised by clearly do, that they are making a contribution
this is precisely the point (which we knew experimenters reared on the other style. And to aesthetics. They may well be making a
already): we classify as works of art objects this has in fact happened many times. Ever substantial contribution to psychology, but that
which invoke in us a complex response, which is since the establishment of academies we have is another matter altogether. q
in part sensual and in part intellectual, and it is had judgement tests devised by the incumbents ADAM CZERNIAWSKI
wrong to suggest, as Berlyne apparently does, and we have had the now acknowledged Rochester, Kent
that the response is nevertheless simple, in that masters who had failed to pass them. If the
we seek sensual pleasure in, say, the visual arts, more sophisticated modern psychology tests are
and intellectual pleasure in, say, historical to be used to preserve the status quo, then we Letter from Paris
novels. A painting is distinguished from a shall have to say that in addition to being useless I would like to point out, since the photographs
soothing wallpaper precisely because it not only for aesthetics they are also a danger to a healthy used in the 'Letter from Paris' by Andrew Forge
consists of sensuously pleasing patterns of experimentation in the arts. (Studio International, March 1973, pp. 116-18)
colours, but because it has a content which 4. Yaffé seeks support for his psychological tests might mislead some of your readers, that I had
stimulates the spectator intellectually. in the distinction drawn by Fechner between no hand in deciding what use should be made of
This intellectual stimulation may take many `empirical' and 'speculative' aesthetics. But this the photographs you were given. You were
forms. One could be the realization that for distinction rests on a confusion. Like all meant to choose one only, not to use them all in
example the perceived object was painted by philosophical enquiry, aesthetics is partly a row, and the decision to do so was yours alone.
Vermeer rather than by Rubens. The spectator's speculative and partly empirical. For example, I would like to stress my complete disagreement
pleasure is thus enhanced by any knowledge the question 'How do we determine the value of with this presentation, which is contrary not
that he acquires in addition to what he can a work of art ?' seems speculative because of its only to the meaning of my work but also to the
directly perceive. It may take him time and complete generality. But one way in which this manner in which it should be documented.
effort to assimilate this knowledge. Thus the question can be tackled is by asking whether What is more, the work was done in 1971 not
pleasure will grow gradually and will not pornography has aesthetic value. We then 1972. Finally, I hope one day to understand why
therefore be fully revealed in an instant proceed to a detailed examination of the arts and a photograph of a work done for Documenta 5
stimulus-response test. But the increasing come to realize that we can have pornographic should appear in an article on the Paris art scene
intensity of the response will not of itself be poems, pictures and plays, but not pornographic in 1973, supposedly illustrating another article
proof of aesthetic worth. A pornographic music or pornographic abstract art. So the in the same issue 18 pages earlier, in which no
photograph may be more stimulating than a speculative question about value is mention is made of the work to which the
Titian nude, and during a journey the circumscribed by the empirical facts about photographs refer ? Perhaps you will enlighten
intricacies of time-tables may occasion greater specific art media, and here in turn the reasons me?
brain-activity than a Proust novel. are partly empirical and partly speculative: it is a DANIEL BUREN
3. It is of considerable practical interest to know physical limitation of the medium that we Paris
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