The necessity of artspeak : the language of the arts in the western tradition

Are contemporary art theorists and critics speaking a language that has lost its meaning? Is it still based on concepts and values that are long out of date? Does anyone know what the function of the arts is in modern society? This title situates these issues within the long-running debate about the arts and their place in society that goes back to the classical period in ancient Greece. "The Necessity of Artspeak" shows that what have usually been considered problems of aesthetics and artistic justification often have their source in the linguistic assumptions underlying the terms and arguments presented. It also shows how artspeak is manipulated to serve the interests of particular social groups and agendas. Until the semantics of artspeak is more widely understood, the public will continue to be taken in by the latest fads and fashions that propagandists of the art world promote. Are contemporary art theorists and critics speaking a language that has lost its meaning? Is it still based on concepts and values that are long out of date? Does anyone know what the function of the arts is in modern society?Roy Harris breaks new ground with his linguistic approach to the key issues. He situates those issues within the long-running debate about the arts and their place in society which goes back to the Classical period in ancient Greece. Contributors to the debate included some of the most celebrated artists and philosophers of their day--Plato, Aristotle, Leonardo, Kant, Hegel, Wagner, Baudelaire, Zola, Delacroix--but none of these eminent figures or their supporters provided a reasoned overview examining the multilingual development of Western artspeak as a whole. Nor did they develop any explicit account of the relationship between the arts and language.The Necessity of Artspeak shows for the first time that what have usually been considered problems of aesthetics and artistic justification often have their source in the linguistic assumptions underlying the terms and arguments presented. It also shows how artspeak has been--and continues to be--manipulated to serve the interests of particular social groups and agendas. Until the semantics of artspeak is more widely understood, the public will continue to be taken in by the latest fads and fashions that propagandists of the art world promote. This book breaks new ground in its linguistic approach to the key issues. It situates them within the long-running debate about the arts and their place in society which goes back to the Classical period in ancient Greece. Contributors to the debate included same of the most celebrated artists and philosophers of their day [Plato, Aristotle, Leonarde, Kant. Hegel, Wagner, Baudelaire, Zola, Delacroix ...]. But none of these eminent figures or their supporters provided a reasoned overview examining the multilingual development of Western artspeak as a whole. Nor did they develop any explicit account of the relationship between the arts and language. The Necessity of Artspeak shows for the first time that what have usually been considered problems of aesthetics and artistic justification often have their source in the linguistic assumptions underlying the terms and arguments presented. It also shows how artspeak has been -- and continues to be -- manipulated to serve the interests of particular social groups and agendas. Until the semantics of artspeak is more widely understood, the public will continue to be taken in by the latest fads and fashions that propagandists of the art world promote. Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 The artspeak aphorism through the ages......Page 16 Introduction......Page 20 1 Artspeak and necessity......Page 22 Part I: Traditional Artspeak......Page 32 2 Artspeak in antiquity......Page 34 3 With glory not their own......Page 48 4 The rise and fall of beauty......Page 63 Part II: Artspeak Modern......Page 84 5 Artspeak and the machine......Page 86 6 The flight from meaning......Page 107 7 Cultivating the primitive......Page 123 8 Finding the words......Page 140 Part III: Artspeak and Communication......Page 154 Linguistic preliminaries to Part III......Page 156 9 Surrogational artspeak......Page 162 10 The artspeak contract......Page 181 11 The Devil’s question......Page 203 Postscript......Page 225 References......Page 228 B......Page 234 C......Page 235 G......Page 236 L......Page 237 N......Page 238 R......Page 239 T......Page 240 Z......Page 241 Roy Harris. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [209]-214) And Index.