© Michael Lacewing Representation Michael Lacewing

Constable, The Hay Wain (1821)

Some basics We often praise a work for its likeness to life. Paintings represent objects so we can see the object in the painting. If we can’t, the painting often loses its point, e.g. portraits, or fails as a painting.

Heda, Still Life with a Lobster (1650-9)

Further points Artists and actors spend years developing techniques for realism. Resemblance to life also explains why some subjects are ‘off-limits’ for art, e.g. the Holocaust.

How does art represent reality? Plato: what is fully Real are the Forms; physical objects are copies of the Forms; art copies or imitates physical objects Obj: art is not an imitation, nor do pictures try to get us to confuse art with reality

Pere Borrell del Caso, Escaping Criticism (1874)

Copying Nor does art literally copy reality, e.g. when there is no reality to copy, but the artist makes it up as they go And the value of art is not judged by how exact a copy it is

Vernet, A Landscape at Sunset (1773)

Turner, The Scarlet Sunset ( )

Copying (cont.) If art was copying, wouldn’t photographs be better than paintings? A good forgery is a good copy, but not good art. What about dance, music, literature? Nothing is being copied…

Representation So if art does represent reality, this cannot be understood as imitation or copying. We could still argue that good art represents ‘authentically’

Picasso, The Three Dancers (1925)

Appel Untitled (1960)

Newman, New Adam (1951-2)

Representation (cont.) If nothing is represented, then nothing is represented ‘authentically’ Not only painting, but music Is an emotion represented? –Not represented, but perhaps expressed

The value of art Do we value art because it informs us? Plato: art is not valuable, because we learn more from reality A forgery informs us as much as the original We may value art as a representation –But the value here is not information, but imagination and skill Our response to art is not so intellectual