Shiner on the apotheosis of art Shiner – Part IV, The Apotheosis of Art Chap. 10 - Art as Redemptive Revelation (Larry Shiner. The Invention of Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001). The new view of art as an independent realm Heinrich Heine – commenting on the followers of Goethe, they “regard art as an independent second world which they rank so highly that all activities of human beings – their religion, their morality – course along below it” (1830). Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 1

Shiner on the apotheosis of art With this new status of art came new institutions & professions Concert halls Museums Art dealers For some, art replaced religion; for others it was placed on the same level as religion Art gives one access to a spiritual realm Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 2

Shiner on the apotheosis of art Shelley: Poetry brings “light and fire from those eternal regions where the owl-winged faculty of calculation dare not ever soar.” Hegel’s “speculative theory of art.” Clive Bell – the experiences of art are “so valuable . . . That I have been tempted to believe that art might prove the world’s salvation” (1914). Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 3

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art The common features of this new view of art Art is an autonomous realm Art gives access to the spiritual Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 4

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art Chap. 11 – The Artist: A Sacred Calling New view of the artist – a spiritual vocation, a seer, a spiritual visionary William Blake – “A Poet, a Painter, a Musician, an Architect: the Man or Woman who is not one of these is not a Christian. You must leave Father and Mother and House and Lands if they stand in the way of Art” (1820). Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 5

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art The German Nazarenes (1809-1820s) movement & the British Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848-1850s) The model to whom many artists appealed as the apotheosis of this new ideal – Beethoven Shelley – “Poets are unacknowledged legislators of the world” (“Defense of Poetry”) Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 6

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art Traits of the ideal artist Person of creative imagination Person who is free to create what she wishes Modeste Mussorgsky – “The Artist is a law unto himself.” Some artists cultivated the image of the Bohemian Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 7

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art The true artist is a sufferer, misunderstood by society (203) Term avant-garde first used in late 19th century to refer to the most advanced art With the rise in the status of the artist, the image of the artisan (craftsman) declined Demise of small workshops & traditional skills Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 8

Shiner on the new ideal of the artist & work of art Traits of traditional workshops (206) Hierarchical Learned the entire process Pace of work Traditional tools & techniques Cf. to the new factory system Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 9

Shiner on the triumph of the aesthetic chap. 12 - “Silences: Triumph of the Aesthetic” Learning the new rules for experiencing art Emile Zola’s story (1877) of a wedding party’s visit to the Louvre Museums had become temples, churches Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 10

Shiner on the triumph of the aesthetic New division of theatres into those that performed high art & those that performed popular plays Similar division of concert halls Battle for proper behavior continued Edward Baxter Perry – Audiences must rise above the “mere sensuous pleasure or superficial enjoyment, to a higher . . . Spiritual aesthetic gratification.” Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 11

Shiner on the triumph of the aesthetic The popularity of the idea that there is a special aesthetic faculty or distinct features of aesthetic experience Proper aesthetic distance Disinterested (vs utilitarian) Contemplative attitude Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 12

Shiner on the triumph of the aesthetic With the rise of the aesthetic went the decline of beauty Beauty to closely aligned with mimeticism And too closely associated with prettiness The problem of art & society Wilde, Gautier, & Whistler vs Tolstoy, Ruskin & Courbet Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 13

Shiner on the triumph of the aesthetic Why did this issue emerge at this time? Shiner on the apotheosis of art - slide 14