Studiegids

Content

A painting is visible, but its meaning is partially invisible. The same goes for every artwork. Philosophy of art is focusing on the meaning of it, in reference to concepts that allow an identification of things in terms of art. So, to understand art properly, you need a notion of (for example) visible qualities as well as their invisible references, a notion of practice, artwork and theory. To gain this wider understanding, we will read and discuss four texts on the philosophy of art.

The first one is a chapter of the study The Great Image Has No Form by French philosopher and Chinese linguist François Jullien (*1951), the chapter is called ‘Theory of the Sketch’ and analyzes an intercultural comparison on key subjects of Western and Chinese art.

The second example is an excerpt of the founding text of the philosophy of art in the West, on the production of art, Poetics, by the antique Greek philosopher Aristotle.

The third extract is part of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment, published in 1790, a reflection on aesthetics and the principles of creating ‘free art’.

The last one refers to this tradition of poetics and aesthetics and questions it from a contemporary point of view. It is a chapter of the book Aesthetics and Its Discontents by French philosopher Jacques Rancière (*1940), especially on the relation of art and politics.

At the end of this course the student is capable of:
-reading and analyzing philosophical texts on the meaning of art,
-discussing these texts with others (taking distance),
-writing his/her/their own reflection on these texts (creativity, directing yourself),
-relating these texts to the practice of art and artworks themselves.

Course material

Texts on Toledo

Format: more information

In the lessons we will focus on the interpretation of the philosophical texts, this means 'close reading' and discussion about the content, including taking notes by the students regarding their self-study of the texts.

Due to measurements regarding a pandemic the lessons could take place online or be replaced by assignments.