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From Andy Warhol's Brillo boxes to provocative dung-splattered madonnas, in today's art world many strange, even shocking, things are put on display. This often leads exasperated viewers to exclaim--is this really art? In this invaluable primer on aesthetics, Freeland explains why innovation and controversy are so highly valued in art, weaving together philosophy and art theory with many engrossing examples. Writing clearly and perceptively, she explores the cultural meanings of art in different contexts, and highlights the continuities of tradition that stretch from modern, often sensational, works back to the ancient halls of the Parthenon, to the medieval cathedral of Chartres, and to African nkisi nkondi fetish statues. She explores the difficulties of interpretation, examines recent scientific research into the ways the brain perceives art, and looks to the still-emerging worlds of art on the web, video art, art museum CD-ROMS, and much more. In addition, Freeland guides us through the various theorists of art, from Aristotle and Kant to Baudrillard. Lastly, throughout this nuanced account of theories, artists, and works, Freeland provides us with a rich understanding of how cultural significance is captured in a physical medium, and why challenging our perceptions is, and always has been, central to the whole endeavor. It is instructive to recall that Henri Matisse himself was originally derided as a "wild beast." To horrified critics, his bold colors and distorted forms were outrageous. A century later, what was once shocking is now considered beautiful. And that, writes Freeland, is art.
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But is it art? An introduction to art theory Cynthia Freeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston. She has published on topics in the philosophy of art and film, ancient Greek philosophy, and feminist theory. She is also author of The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror (1999) and co-editor of Philosophy and Film (1995). ‘So many of the questions that define us as a culture have been raised through and by the art of recent decades, that without coming to terms with our art, we can scarcely understand ourselves. Cynthia Freeland has written a very smart book, in which high philosophical intelligence is applied by a contemporary sensibility to difficult questions raised by real works of art. It immediately situates the reader where thought and action meet, and since the issues are inescapable, it should be required reading for everyone. I know of no work that moves so swiftly and with so sure a footing through the battle zones of art and society today.’ Arthur C. Danto, Columbia University
‘Chapters on gender, money and the marketplace, and on the uses and abuses of “primitive” motifs in contemporary art making are models of judicious clarity.’ Publisher’s Weekly
‘highly informative . . . Freeland’s study is clearly and enthusiastically written’ Gerald Cipriani, Journal of Art and Design Education
‘a vibrant study of a complex and contentious field of artistic endeavour and enquiry . . . lucid, incisive, and thoughtprovoking.’ Murray Smith, University of Kent
‘Freeland provides a unique and inclusive view of the past by discussing it from the vantage point of contemporary art.’ Lucy R. Lippard, author of Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America
‘the court of Louis XIV, aboriginal tourist art, and the digital revolution . . . Freeland has managed to distil theories of art, the history of aesthetics, and a selected tour of art history into a brief and eminently informative text’ Carolyn W. Korsmeyer, State University of New York
‘a lively, eminently readable and remarkably wide ranging discussion of issues germane to the field of contemporary art. . . . A delight.’ Eleanor Heartney, author of Critical Condition: Americ