What is Art

In Leo Tolstoy work “What is Art” he describes what his definition of art to him. Tolstoy says for it to be art there needs to be a connection to the author to the viewer from the piece of art through “infection.” This is where the term of art gets to be confusing under Tolstoy view of art such as dancing, paintings, as well as sculptures. For example dancing is considered an art form by many people who do see a connection with the author the way the dancers move and the clothes that they are wearing, however I don’t see dancing as being an form because I tend to find it boring so the ideas of art do not come into my head while watching dancing. Under Tolstoy view of art is if the author cannot get the audience to “if he causes another man to yawn when he himself cannot help yawning, or to laugh or cry when he himself is obliged to laugh or cry, or to suffer when he himself is suffering” is that it is not because there is no infection. And it is only when the viewers of art are infected by what the author meant is what is what is art under Tolstoy`s views. Tolstoy brings up the word infectiousness in is view of art pretty often. “If a man is infected by the author’s condition of soul, if he feels this emotion and this union with others, then the object which has effected this is art; but if there be no such infection, if there be not this union with the author and with others who are moved by the same work – then it is not art. And not only is infection a sure sign of art, but the degree of infectiousness is also the sole measure of excellence in art.” Under Tolstoy view of art can only be accomplish if the author has made an infectious piece to where the observers can clearly see the views of the authors infectious.

( WC 339)

Aristotle’s Poetics

Aristotle and Plato both philosophers from ancient Greece and had two different views of philosophy. Aristotle stated that a tragedy is “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;… in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” With this being said Aristotle believes that a tragedy has to effects on other people as well not just yourself. For example falling off your bike and scraping your knee isn’t a tragedy because it isn’t only hurts you and that soon you will be recovered and fine. For Aristotle a tragedy effects multiple people that’s why deaths are the most common form of a tragedy because it usually effects more than one person and takes time to grieve and recover from that person’s death.

In the book of mice and men shows the idea of tragedy. The book is about two men Lennie and George two friends who dream of owning a farm together, but Lennie doesn’t ever grow up and this holds the two of them back from reaching their goals. Lennie and George have to settle working for other farmers to live. Lennie is a strong man and has an obsession with things that are soft so he puts a mouse in his pocket to pet, but is always to rough and kills the mouse. So they decide to get Lennie a dog, but the same thing happens again the soft fur is too much and he accidentally kills the dog while playing with it in the barn. While Lennie is in the barn one of the workers wife`s offers her hair to Lennie to play with since it is soft and she finally had enough, but Lennie wouldn’t let go causing Lennie to kill her and Lennie to run off and go into hiding. Curly sets out with all the workers to find Lennie so they can kill him. While searching George finds Lennie as Lennie is apologizing for what he has done and George is telling him that it’s okay while he does that George puts a gun to the back of Lennie’s head and kills him. George did that because if Curly was to kill Lennie he would have done it while Lennie was facing him and caused Lennie to freak out and George shot Lennie when he wasn’t expecting it. There are a few tragedies here with Curly having his wife die and as well as George. George had to deal with killing his best friend so he Curly wouldn’t torture him as well as George feared for his own life because being Lennie`s friend could have got him killed. So having George killing Lennie showed the others that George could be trusted by everyone.

Word count: 480

Existenz

Blog prompt: How does Existenz, the film, fit into Plato’s hierarchical scheme of reality? How does the game, Trancendenz fit?

In the movie existenz is based off of a game called trancendz where the people playing get into the game of virtual reality and the movie shows many flashbacks from the players being in the game and back into the real world. The movie doesn’t show many of the “true forms” that plato has laid out. Plato has stated that “art is deceptive” and in the game Trancendz shows that will Allegra being the main character with everyone looking up to her, but there are people trying to kill her in the game. It doesn’t make since that Allegra has people out to kill her because she has the main console that controls everyone elses game and if she was to die everyone in the game will be stuck in the game trancendz.

Also in the opening credits if the movie the color is an amber orange color with a skeleton of a fish and that can resemble back to plato by implying that the fish is in amber as a fossil. Also there are paintings in the background as well which implies that the paintings are cave paintings and also the color is still amber orange which resembles as fire and this can mean the ancient cave people sitting around the fire in a cave and haven’t found the real world yet.