Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.16 $; site ISM780B.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!cca!ISM780B!jimb From: jimb@ISM780B.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Re: critics (Long!!) What is art? Message-ID: <27800012@ISM780B.UUCP> Date: Mon, 16-Sep-85 11:16:00 EDT Article-I.D.: ISM780B.27800012 Posted: Mon Sep 16 11:16:00 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 18-Sep-85 05:32:12 EDT References: <270@lzwi.UUCP> Lines: 41 Nf-ID: #R:lzwi:-27000:ISM780B:27800012:000:1778 Nf-From: ISM780B!jimb Sep 16 11:16:00 1985 >> For me, great art should have both style and structure and the two >> should complement each other. Experiments with style may be fun for >> the author and interesting for the literate but without a >> complementing structure, the result is unlikely to be great art. >This is, I think, the essence. Given a story to tell, >or a theme to explore, a writer may choose from an infinite >number of structures that will handle it. Only one, in any >given case, is the best. While form and content (terms I'm >more comfortable with) may be discussed separately, content >determines form. It is the interaction (and, frequently, >the conflict) between them that allows knowledge to develop. > >And as for what is art, try this for part of the >definition: the process of exposing the underlying contradictions >that are hidden in mundane life through crafting a work >that is esthetically (sp?) pleasing. > -- SKZB A mild demure on one point. The statement "only one (structure), in any event is the best" assumes that the "best" is definable, recognizable, and agreed upon. Each structure will yield a unique combination of effects; which combination of effects is the best depends on auctorial intent, which is something that even the author may not be consciously aware of, and the aggregate perceptions of the readership, which is culturally determined and will vary with time and society. That many classics are widely agreed to be be great works is only indicative that the authors struck pretty close to dealing with raw universal truths that seem [so far] to transcend time and culture. -- can I borrow a cute tag line from anyone -- Jim Brunet decvax!cca!ima!jimb ucbvax!ucla-cs!ism780!jimb ihnp4!vortex!ism780!jimb Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com