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ART AND REPRESENTATION
Hunters in the Snow, Pieter Brueghel, 1565
PLATO (c. 429-347 BCE)
Plato I
• Plato is one of the world's best known and most
widely read and studied philosophers. He was the
student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle,
and he wrote in the middle of the fourth century
B.C.E. in ancient Greece. Though influenced
primarily by Socrates, to the extent that Socrates is
usually the main character in many of Plato’s
writings, he was also influenced by Heraclitus,
Parmenides (theory of Forms), and the
Pythagoreans.
Plato II
• There are varying degrees of controversy over
which of Plato’s works are authentic, and in what
order they were written, due to their antiquity and
the manner of their preservation through time.
Nonetheless, his earliest works are generally
regarded as the most reliable of the ancient
sources on Socrates, and the character Socrates
that we know through these writings is considered
to be one of the greatest of the ancient
philosophers.
Plato III
• Plato’s middle to later works, including his most famous
work, the Republic, are generally regarded as providing
Plato’s own philosophy, where the main character in effect
speaks for Plato himself. These works blend ethics,
political philosophy, moral psychology, epistemology, and
metaphysics into an interconnected and systematic
philosophy. It is most of all from Plato that we get the
theory of Forms, according to which the world we know
through the senses is only an imitation of the pure, eternal,
and unchanging world of the Forms. Plato's works also
contain the origins of the familiar complaint that the arts
work by inflaming the passions, and are mere illusions
Plato V
• Plato's influence on western culture
generally is a very strong one, and this
includes a strong influence on the arts, and
on theories of art. In the case of the arts and
aesthetic theory that influence is mostly
indirect, and is best understood if one
knows a little bit about his philosophy.
Philosophy
• The changing physical world is a poor, decaying
copy of a perfect, rational, eternal, and changeless
original.
• The beauty of a flower is an imperfect imitation of
Beauty itself.
• Other essences such as Justice is impossible in the
real world.
• A geometrical shape such as a Circle is a
mathematical ideal.
PLATO’S FORMS I
• According to Plato, things which fall under a
common name, like ‘chair,’ or ‘table,’ ‘bed,’ must
have something in common By virtue of which
they are called by that name.
• This something in common is the essence of that
kind of thing, which Plato calls the ‘form’ or ‘idea’
of that thing.
• Today, Plato’s forms or ideas are more commonly
called ‘universals,’ and it is the nature of a
universal that it can have ‘instances.’ Thus, there
can be any number of instances of chairs, tables,
or beds, and that which all chairs, for instance,
share is the essence of chair or chairness.
Plato’s Forms II
• Beauty, Justice, and the Circle are all examples of Forms
or Ideas.
• Forms or ‘’universals’’ are perfect ideals but they are also
more ‘’real’’ than physical objects.
• The world of Forms is rational and unchanging; the world
of physical appearances is changeable and irrational, and
only has reality to the extent that it succeeds in imitating
the Forms.
• The mind or soul belongs to the ideal world; the body and
its passions to the physical world.
• The best human life is one that strives to imitate the Forms
as closely as possible. That life is the life of the mind, the
life of the
philosopher
PLATO’S FORMS III
• A form or universal can be apprehended by the
mind, but not by the senses.
• In apprehending the form of something, the mind
is acquainted with the reality of that thing, and
knows the truth about it.
• Thus it is the mind which knows, not the senses,
and this is the beginning of rationalism in
philosophy.
• Each concept named by a word such as ‘bed’ has
its own single form or universal.
PLATO’S FORMS VI
• For Plato, the forms are more real than the
copies of them in the world of space and
time.
• Plato: The forms in ‘nature’ are due to God,
“whether from choice or necessity.”
• Here ‘nature’ does not refer to the world of
space-time, but to the world of forms, which
is an abstract, spaceless, timeless reality.
Plato’s Forms V
• Only one form of each thing is possible, since, if two
forms of something like a bed existed, they would
each have bedness in common, and so there would be
a third form which each shared.
• This third form would seem to be the real or ideal
form which the other forms have in common.
However, the first and third form would also have
bedness in common, and so there would be a fourth
form shared by the first and third form. But then the
form shared by the third and fourth form would have
bedness in common, and so a fifth form would be
needed to account for the bedness shared as indicated.
• This generates an infinite regress of forms, not a
single form, and because God knew this would result,
he/she created a single bed which is the form of bed.
THE INFINITE REGRESS OF FORMS
Bed 6
Bed 5
5
4
4
3
Bed 4
Bed 3
3
2
2
Bed 2
1
Bed 1
Bed 1 and bed 2 have bed 3 in common. Bed 2 and bed 3 have bed 4
in common. Bed 3 and bed 4 have bed 5 in common. Bed 4 and bed 5
have bed 6 in common, and so on, ad infinitum.
ART AND THE FORMS I
• A carpenter makes a bed for use in accordance
with the form or idea of bed.
• A carpenter’s bed is a copy of the form or idea of
bed. He does not make the form itself.
• Plato calls an instance of a form or universal an
‘imitation’ of that form in being a copy of the
original. Hence a three-dimensional bed in spacetime is an imitation of the form of bed in the
abstract reality of Plato’s world of forms.
ART AND THE FORMS II
• If a bed made by a carpenter is an imitation, then a
painting of a bed is an imitation of an imitation.
• Plato’s view is the origination of the view of art as
imitation, and of the artist as imitator.
• God is the maker of the form of bed, the bed of the
carpenter is a three-dimensional copy of this form,
and the painter of the bed is third in line who
makes a two-dimensional copy of the carpenter’s
copy.
BEDS
THE FORM BED
A carpenter’s bed. For Plato,
such a bed is an imitation of
the form bed.
Vincent Van Gogh’s painting
of his bed, excerpted from his
painting Bedroom at Arles, 1888.
For Plato, a painting of a bed
represents an imitation of an
imitation.
PAINTING IS APPEARANCE, NOT REALITY
Plato says that “you may look at a bed from
different points of view, obliquely or directly or
from any other point of view, and the bed will
appear different, but there is no difference in
reality.” All external world objects are seen, and
must be represented, in perspective, or from a
particular point of view. However, the mind
grasps the form of the bed from no point of
view, and we grasp that a bed is an instance of
the form of bed no matter from what angle it is
viewed. This is what Plato means by saying that
“there is no difference in reality.” Thus painting
can only give appearance, not reality. For Plato,
philosophy acquaints us with reality, not art.
ART AND THE FORMS III
• For Plato, art is an imitation of an imitation – like Van
Gogh’s bed - and hence goes in the wrong direction from
truth.
• Art takes us away from, not closer to, the truth. For Plato,
it is through philosophy that we know the truth, not art.
• Painting is not even an imitation of things as they are, but
only as they appear. And Plato thinks that “The real artist .
. . would be interested in realities, and not in imitations.”
• Painting gives us, not truth, but appearance.
• According to Plato, the arts, such as painting, are
concerned with appearance, whereas philosophy is
concerned with the truth. That is a main point of his
allegory of the cave, in which the prisoners of the cave
take shadows to be the truth when, in fact, they are only
appearances.
Plato’s View:
Art is Essentially Mimesis
Art was useless:
• It serves no useful purpose in society.
• As a "Imitation of Nature" it added no knowledge.
–No intellectual value(The same value could be added by simply by
holding up a mirror to the world which would be
far less costly.)
• According his metaphysics, art is an imitation of
an imitation, thus barely real at all.
Plato’s View:
Art is Essentially Mimesis
Art was potentially dangerous for several reasons:
A.) Art was essentially deceptive.
– The whole aim of art was to deceive. Success was
achieved when the spectator mistook an imitation for
reality.
– Furthermore, artists were unconcerned with facts/truth.
It made no difference to artists nor to the success of
their works whether the images or stories they depict
were real or their messages true or good.
Plato’s View:
Art is Essentially Mimesis
Art was politically dangerous, a threat to the common good.
– Similar to the point made earlier (c), Plato worried that
strong art which appeals to emotions stirs up negative
emotions which we are trying to control.
– But this is more than just a problem for the individual.
For a people with a history of "mania," strong,
emotion-stirring art is rightly seen as a threat to the
good of state/community.
– It was, therefore correctly the concern of government.
Plato’s View:
Art is Essentially Mimesis
• Art was potentially dangerous for several
reasons:
A.) Art was essentially deceptive.
B.) Art was mainly concerned with sensual pleasure.
C.) Further, Art was psychologically de-stabilizing.
(for the individual)
D.) Art leads to immorality.
E.) Art was politically dangerous. (threat to the
common good)
Plato’s View
“there is an ancient quarrel between philosophy and
poetry; of which there are many proofs, such as the
saying of 'the yelping hound howling at her lord,' or of
one 'mighty in the vain talk of fools,' and 'the mob of
sages circumventing Zeus,' and the 'subtle thinkers
who are beggars after all'; and there are innumerable
other signs of ancient enmity between them.
Notwithstanding this, let us assure our sweet friend and
the sister arts of imitation that if she will only prove her
title to exist in a well-ordered State we shall be
delighted to receive her --we are very conscious of her
charms; but we may not on that account betray the
truth.”
Plato’s View
If her defense fails, then, my dear friend, like other persons
who are enamoured of something, but put a restraint upon
themselves when they think their desires are opposed to
their interests, so too must we after the manner of lovers
give her up, though not without a struggle. We too are
inspired by that love of poetry which the education of
noble States has implanted in us, and therefore we would
have her appear at her best and truest; but so long as she is
unable to make good her defense, this argument of ours
shall be a charm to us, which we will repeat to ourselves
while we listen to her strains; that we may not fall away
into the childish love of her which captivates the many.
Plato’s View
At all events we are well aware that
poetry being such as we have described
is not to be regarded seriously as
attaining to the truth; and he who
listens to her, fearing for the safety of
the city which is within him, should be
on his guard against her seductions and
make our words his law.
Plato’s View
• Entire Republic can be seen as an argument for allowing Philosophy to
do the work accorded to Poetry
• In Plato’s defense, today it is widely agreed that the arts do not
produce the kind of reliable knowledge or moral wisdom that the
sciences and philosophical argument produce. (And Artist still bay at
Science and Philosophy)
• But do we beg the question against the arts by looking exclusively for
propositional knowledge (see renderings of molecules).
• Arthur Danto reminds us, "Plato did not precisely propose that art was
mimesis, but that mimetic art was pernicious."
PROBLEMS WITH PLATO’S VIEW I
• Plato assumes that truth is the only thing that matters,
and that only philosophy can give us the truth. However,
it must be asked if philosophical truth and knowledge of
the forms is the only kind of truth and knowledge which
matter.
• What about, for instance, the knowledge of human
nature, society, and the human condition provided by
literature and drama?
• Could there not be some truths which can only be got
through the arts rather than the sciences or philosophy?
What about the possibilities of artistic creation and
invention that are demonstrated by the arts themselves?
Does this not give us the truth about those possibilities?
PROBLEMS WITH PLATO’S VIEW II
Not only does Plato fail to consider that the arts might
give us a kind of truth which philosophy or science
cannot, but he does not recognize that the arts might
be valuable for reasons other than the truth.
• For instance, what about beauty and aesthetic
experience? Are these not as important and valuable
to us as human beings as philosophical truth?
• He also fails to consider that, although the truth
provided by the arts may not be novel, and may
perhaps be more clearly articulated by philosophy, that
the artistic statement of truth may, in virtue of having
an aesthetic dimension lacking in philosophy, be more
culturally valuable for that reason.
PROBLEMS WITH PLATO’S VIEW III
• Even if it were true that art does not result in, but takes us
away from the truth – and we have seen reason to question
this - could we not yet say that beauty can be as valuable
to us as truth?
• Plato’s theory seems to make man one-dimensional - an
instrument of reason - but are we not also beings capable
of feeling? And are not thoughts and feelings each
addressed by the arts in significant ways?
• Is not our need to address and reward the affective aspect
of ourselves as important to what we are as being truth
seekers?
• I think that we can view philosophy, science, and art as
different but equally important aspects of culture. Plato’s
theory of art as imitation seems too naïve and
circumscribed a view of the arts to do justice to this larger
cultural view.
Art as Imitation
2. The Artist as an ‘’Inspired
Genius’’
• Plato had two theories of art: art as imitation, and
the artist as an inspired prophet or genius.
• In his dialogue, the Republic , he states that art
imitates physical things, which in turn imitates the
Forms. Art is always a copy of a copy, and leads
us even further from truth and toward illusion. For
this reason, as well as because of its power to stir
the emotions, art is dangerous.
The Artist as a “Prophet”
• Plato’s other theory is hinted at in his
shorter dialogue, Ion, and his Symposium .
According to this theory, the artist , perhaps
by divine inspiration, makes a better copy
of the ”True’’ than may be found in ordinary
experience, thus the artist is a kind of
prophet.
The Persistence of the Two Theories
in the Renaissance and the Romantic
Period
• The idea of art as an imitation of reality was very strong in
the Renaissance when Vasari, in his Lives of Painters, said
that “painting is just the imitation of all the living things of
nature with their colours and designs just as they are in
nature.”
• Late in the 19th century the theory of art as imitation was
replaced by theories about art as expression, art as
communication. Art as pure form, art as reception…etc.
• The idea of the artist as a prophet or an “inspired genius”
whose art work is a unique imitation of reality was very
strong in the Romantic period.
Art is Powerful and Dangerous
• In Plato’s view poetry, drama , music, painting, dance, all
stir up our emotions and influence our behaviour. Thus,
music and the other arts should be taught to the young in
his ideal republic, provided that it should be censored to
present only the good.
• Plato’s allegory of the Cave in which the arts are viewed as
shadows on the walls of a cave rather than shining symbols
of the true world outside reveals that he saw that art might
reveal the truth, but it might also delude us by preventing a
true knowledge of ourselves and the world.
GOMBRICH ON ART AND REPRODUCTION I
• Ernest Gombrich: There are limits to objectivity, to
reproducing nature or subject matter as exactly as possible.
• Gombrich: The following things influence an artist’s
attempt to reproduce something “with the utmost fidelity:”
– The artist’s personality or temperament;
– His or her selective preferences. The angle at which an
object is pictured and from what distance will have to
be determined, as will what will be emphasized and
what not;
– The style(s) of the artist (e.g. Picasso);
– The style(s) of the period in which the artist exists (e.g.
Cubism, Fauvism, Abstract Expressionism).
Cubism Fauvism Expressionism
• Cubism is characterised by the reduction
and fragmentation of natural forms, e.g.,
“Guernica”.
• Fauvism is marked by the use of bold, often
distorted forms and vivid colours.
• Expressionism emphasised subjective
expression of the artist’s inner experiences.
EMILE ZOLA: “ART IS A CORNER OF NATURE
SEEN THROUGH A TEMPERAMENT.”
The Hay Wain, John Constable, 1821
Landscape, Chaim Soutine, 1921