Monday, April 26, 2010

Dickie and the Artworld.

In this week's chapter, we were to discuss George Dickie and his interpretation of art via the institutional theory of art. Dickie takes most of his inspiration and influence from Arthur Danto, who first introduced the world to his theory of the "artworld." In the chapter, he discusses that something can be called a work of art if it is conferred by a representative member of the artworld.

However, that brings into question who is entitled to become a member of the artworld, which was the question that Johnson brought up for the Q&A over the weekend. According to Dickie, "the core personnel of the artworld is a loosely organized... set of persons including artists (understood to refer to painters, writers, composers), producers, museum directors, museum-goers, theater-goers, reporters for newspapers, critics for publications of all sorts, art historians, art theorists, philosophers of art, and others" (223). He also explains that anyone who thinks of themselves as a member of the artworld is, in fact, a member of the artworld. The artworld is based on appreciation of the art itself by presenters of the art, "goers" of the art (art enthusiasts, one might say), and the artist itself. The entire artworld is a social institution circulating with activity by all of its members working hand-in-hand to create art what it is.

Although Dickie's interpretation of art is very frigid for my liking, I do appreciate and agree with the fact that almost anybody can be a member of the "artworld" and one does not need to be of a specific status in order to understand, create, or appreciate art.

My question is, "Dickie writes that 'a person who sees himself as a member of the artworld is thereby a member' (234). What do you think could be the implications to such a theory?"

Response #13.

In Aditi's blog, she asks, "Do you believe that artwork that depicts these things [conflict, depression, tragedy] is most effective? Is this perhaps why there is so much of it? Do you think art can exist without tragedy?"

It's interesting that I stumble upon this question now, because as I was just surfing the internet, I found an image (text from a book, I'm assuming) that corresponds with your question. The text reads:

"Writers, especially poets, are particularly prone to madness. There exists a striking association between creativity and manic depression. Why are more creative people prone to madness? They have more than average amounts of energies and abilities to see things in a fresh and original way - then because they also have depression, I think they're more in touch with human suffering."

I found this quote intriguing, and I find myself agreeing with it for the most part. However, there must be more that comes into play. There has always been an association with mental illness and creativity - some of the most prolific writers, artists, and musicians of our ages have been struck with mental illness. Edgar Allan Poe was believed to have suffered from either bipolar disorder or major depression, Jackson Pollack also suffered from depression and alcoholism which lead to his death, and Vincent van Gogh - one of the most famous artists of our time - suffered greatly from mental illness and eventually institutionalized himself. However, one has to question other factors that may have come into play. Artistic people, by nature, seem to be more drawn towards the darker side of life, indulging in things such as drugs and alcohol which could distort their perspectives on life and art. And depending on which kind of drug the artist may be using, it could eventually send them spiraling into psychosis.

When someone has enough troubling situations in his or her life and traumatic events that alter them forever, it could lead to some form of mental illness, or "tragedy" as you put it in your question. I do believe that art can exist without this tragedy, though. There have been numerous artists, musicians, and writers that have [i]not[/i] suffered from any tragedies or illnesses in their life but they still manage to create outstanding pieces of artwork. Perhaps these pieces may not necessarily show that darker side of human experience that only the tragic seem to know, but it is part of the artworld nonetheless.

Myself, I find myself appreciating art more when there is tragedy behind it, because that means there's a story behind the piece itself, a story behind the artist as to why and how he or she created it. It creates more depth in the piece for me.

My question is, "Do you believe that people with mental illness are more prone to be artistic individuals? Or does the artworld itself bring out those tendencies in people?"