In Response to Spectrum - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Reader comment on:
The Uncertainty Principle of Beauty
in response to reader comment: Spectrum

Submitted by Christopher Orloff, Feb 18, 2007 22:52

"There is no a priori judgment that might reveal what will prove evanescent and what sustaining."

"As a reader, one knows that he or she is in the presence of artistic genious (sic)..."

There's no a priori judgment for genius either, in spite of what most everybody will say. The idea that there is is the reason there seems to be a famine of brilliant art lately. Manet's Olympia is a perfect example that symbolism contains the art. Today, you don't need symbolism, so nothing holds together. Those who notice this will be remembered as the great artists of the 21st century.

Here's authority: "The most beautiful colors, laid on confusedly, will not give as much pleasure as the chalk outline of a portrait." --Aristotle

That's indirectly about symbolism, because the antithesis of confusion is precision, and nothing is more precise than controlling every element as it were something else. This is the meaning of meaning: Representation.

You can spend hours dissecting Olympia. Plenty of modern artists whose names I haven't attributed to memory will not even make an effort to give their work meaning. I insist that this attitude is an excuse for laziness. Furthermore, it's disrespectful to the audience. The artist hasn't taken the consideration necessary to add any meaning to their work, and they expect their observers to find meaning. It's an Easter egg hunt without Easter eggs.

Nothing can be uglier than wasting time.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

Reader comment on:
The Uncertainty Principle of Beauty
in response to reader comment: Spectrum

Other reader comments on this article

Comment on The Uncertainty Principle of Beauty

Reader comment on:The Uncertainty Principle of Beautyin response to reader comment: Spectrum

Other reader comments on this article

Comment on The Uncertainty Principle of Beauty

Reader comment on:
The Uncertainty Principle of Beauty
in response to reader comment: Spectrum