The boundaries of art /
David Novitz.
- xii, 276 pages ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-263) and index.
Preface -- The State of the Arts: An Introduction -- Connections -- Two Approaches -- Strategies -- Art and the Arts -- Conclusion -- High and Popular Art: The Place of Art in Society -- High Art and Popular Art: The Distinction -- A Distinction in Context -- The Politics of High and Popular Art -- The Fall of High Art: Artistic versus Economic Value -- Conclusion -- Art, Life, and Reality -- Art and Reality -- "Really," "Real," and "Reality" -- Wilde and Wide of the Mark -- Art and Life -- Conclusion -- The Integrity of Aesthetics -- Urmson on Aesthetic Value -- Aesthetic Concepts and Aesthetic Value -- Value and Reason -- Aesthetic Values and Real Life -- Aesthetic Value and Social Structures: A Conclusion -- Art, Narrative, and Human Nature -- Looking at Myself -- Stories about Myself -- The Nature and Politics of Narrative Identity -- Narrative, Norms, and Human Nature -- Personhood and Arthood: A Conclusion -- Keeping Up Appearances -- Good Looks and Grooming -- Impressions of a Group -- Appearance across Cultures -- The Beauty of the Group -- Getting It Wrong -- Conclusion -- Love, Friendship, and the Aesthetics of Character -- Preliminaries -- Constructing a "Safety Net" -- On Knowing One's Friends -- Structures of Affirmation -- Love and the Aesthetics of Self-Deception -- On Truth and Beauty -- Conclusion -- Of Drama, the Dramatic, and Everyday Life -- The Place of Drama in Everyday Life -- Social Scripting and Social Drama -- The Content of Social Drama -- The World and Katharsis -- Speaking Theoretically: A Conclusion -- Art, Conflict, and Commitment -- What Is a Conflict? -- Commitment and Reason -- The Scope of Commitment -- Art in a Changing World -- Art and Anaesthesia -- Art and Instability -- Seduction, Art, and Reason -- Seduction, Artifice, and Reason -- Seduction, the Individual, and Rorty -- The Art of Politics and the Politics of Art -- Power and Art -- Rorty, Reason, and Truth -- Redescriptions Redeemed: The End of the Textual Laager -- Sentences and "Vocabularies" -- Conclusion -- Art and Philosophy -- Philosophy as Literature -- Decision Making in Philosophy -- Forging the Canon -- Mainstream Philosophy -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
"In this provocative book, David Novitz reconsiders the complex relations between art and life. He rejects the view that artwork should be judged in isolation from its historical and cultural contexts, pointing to the many ways in which the cultural milieu affects choices made by the artist. He challenges the commonplace notion of art as something removed from daily life by invisible, yet rigid boundaries. Rather, Novitz argues, much art is unrecognized as such because it addresses issues and preoccupations of everyday life and is therefore viewed as "low brow" or merely popular. In fact, the author contends, not only does art invariably reflect our lives, but it often consciously attempts to influence our lives." "Popular genres like cinema, advertising, pop music, erotica, conversation, gardening, cooking, and carpentry are all seen as arts, and Novitz traces the differentiation of these from the so-called fine arts to the Renaissance, when moneyed classes patronized artists as a form of social self-promotion. This separation was reinforced in the nineteenth century, with the emergence of the aesthetic movement and its distinction between "high" art and the "popular" arts." "By providing a sustained and lively challenge to the traditional boundaries of art, Novitz demonstrates the detail and explains the extent of the integration of art into everyday life. He does not, however, endorse the postmodernist claim that there are no boundaries between art and life. Instead, he argues that our conception of the relations between art, life, and philosophy need to be rethought in a way that reflects more adequately the role that both art and philosophy play in our lives.". "At its most powerful, Novitz argues, art is a form of seduction that can destabilize our commitments and entire world views, and does so in ways that are unavailable to rational persuasion. While carefully considering but rejecting Oscar Wilde's claim that "Life is in fact the mirror, and Art the reality," Novitz makes the case that art, properly conceived, reaches deeply into our lives and is profoundly influential."--BOOK JACKET.