Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art (Classic Reprint) - Brossura

Kentish Coomaraswamy, Ananda

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1330309189 ISBN 13: 9781330309186

Casa editrice: Forgotten Books, 2018

Riassunto

Excerpt from Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art

Let us assume that we are considering an exhibition Of Greek Objects, and call upon Plato to act as our Docent. He knows nothing of our distinction Of fine from applied arts. For him painting and agriculture, music and carpentry and pottery are all equally kinds Of poetry or making. And as Plotinus, following Plato, tells us, the arts such as music and carpentry are not based on human wisdom but on the thinking there.

Whenever Plato Speaks disparagingly of the base mechanical arts and of mere labour as distinguished from the fine work Of making things, it is with refer ence to kinds of manufacture that provide for the needs Of the body alone. The kind of art that he calls whole some and will admit to his ideal state must be not only useful but also true to rightly chosen models and therefore beautiful, and this art, he says, will provide at the same time for the souls and bodies Of your citizens. His music stands for all that we mean by culture, and his gymnastics for all that we mean by physical training and well-being he insists that these ends of culture and physique must never be separately pursued the tender artist and the brutal athlete are equally contemptible. We, on the other hand are accustomed to think of music, and culture in general, as useless, but still valuable. We forget that music, traditionally, is never something only for the ear, something only to be heard, but always the accompaniment Of some kind of action. Our own conceptions of culture are typically negative. I believe that Professor Dewey is right in calling our cultural values snobbish. The lessons of the Museum must be applied to our life.

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Su questa edizione

• Editore: Forgotten Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1330309189
• ISBN 13: 9781330309186
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 168