My last posting was rubbish. I would delete it but I believe that if I did so I would not be remaining true the spirit of this blog. My intention is to explore and elaborate a certain set of ideas in a public space, and this process is necessarily a hit and miss affair. I set off down different roads to see where they lead, and sometimes I end up in a cul-de-sac. Nevertheless I feel that I am, indeed, working something out even if it is at the moment inchoate, embryonic. Most philosophers, when they write a treatise, are not completely certain what they’re trying to say; they work it out in the process of saying it.
I am currently writing this in a backpackers in Wellington and have a cold.
The stupidest idea in the previous blog was the statement that the contemporary art scene is in crisis. What a reactionary, curmudgeonly remark to make! Rather than repudiate it entirely however, I shall amend it. The art-scene is always in crisis. It seems this way (to a discerning observer) because mediocre artworks outnumber the genuinely good art. There is a lot of bad concept art around but this does not mean that concept art is necessarily bad in itself. It simply means that innovators attract lesser imitators, and these imitators crowd out the real talents, and this has always been the way.
In my time in Wellington, I have been wandering the gallaries and chatting with an aspiring Painter about the works we have seen. As addition to reviving my faith in visual art, these conversations have provided an new perspective on the questions this blog has been trying to address. I shall try to summarise her viewpoint. For her, painting conveys emotion; the painter has a particular attitude towards the subject matter of his work and it is this attitude which is the proper topic of interpretation. Furthemore, she believes that art gives its viewer insight into how other think and act, and into the human condition generally.
This last claim, that art in essence provides knowledge about others and about the human condition in general, is very important. I have shared this belief myself- it is intuitive and I think probably shared by many others. It seems to answer the central question of this thesis. We are interested in art and literature because it teaches us about others. I believe however that this idea does not stand up to serious analysis.
My present situation is not conducive to writing, so I shall return to this theme when I return home.