CCS 2005-2006
Mini-programme 1
DR KEN NEIL
PHILOSOPHY IN
MODERN AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
SOME PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS
CONCERNING PHILOSOPHY
AND ART
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
TODAY’S FOUR SECTIONS:
1.
Aims of this programme
and some points about
coursework and seminars
2.
Plato’s ambition for his
Academy, his definition of
a philosopher, and other
types of philosopher
3.
Consider the idea of a
philosophic artwork
4.
How can one practise and
practice philosophy?
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
1
This mini-programme considers artworks which attend to
the very foundations of our world and artworks which are
based in discreet philosophical ideas, and in the process
the programme addresses different types of philosophy,
philosophising and the relationship of these types to
notable works by Modern and contemporary visual arts.
•What is philosophy?
•Who is a philosopher?
•Ideas of the Modern seen in and through visual art
•Ideas of contemporaneity seen in and through visual art
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
1
Coursework
•
Attendance at Lectures and
Seminars is compulsory and
monitored
•
Stage 2 will be assessed on:
1.
Seminar contribution
The Mini-programme Guide is
available online at
2.
Essay relating to lecture themes
www.studioit.org.uk
•
Stage 3 will be assessed on:
1.
Workshop contribution
2.
Critical Notebook
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
Plato (c 428BC - 348BC)
The Republic Part 1 - to about 390BC
The Republic Part 2 - to about 375BC
Plato’s so-called ‘popular’ works are classed as the ‘dialogues’ one of the dialogues which survives is The Republic.
The Republic is to all intents and purposes the manifesto of his
Academy, an institution he founded in Athens in c460BC to give
a famously holistic education to future statesmen.
You could say that those writings in The Republic which address
the remit of the academy constitute Plato’s philosophy of
governance (political philosophy); his philosophy of
education and, perhaps most importantly, his philosophy of law
and justice (jurisprudence).
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
Plato sought to establish that those future statesmen and rulers
educated at his Academy would be philosopher rulers.
In other words, he believed that effective rulers must also be
effective philosophers.
And philosopher here, in its etymological sense, which is the
sense which Plato intended, means
Lover of Wisdom.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
It is useful to think of Plato’s learned
ruler, the statesman, as just one
type of philosopher The Dialectician
Put simply, this is one who is
exceedingly clever at arguments.
2
Another label for this kind of
philosopher is the Sophist.
The sophist can see all round an
argument, and can apply his/her
powers of reasoning in agile ways.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
Another type of philosopher is the Spiritual Analyst.
This is one who uses philosophic powers of reasoning and persuasion to set
out a religious position.
So, for example, Shankara in the Hindu tradition;
St Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic Tradition;
Buddhaghosa in Buddhist religion;
Or perhaps, Marx who reasoned and argued against a God-centred, faithbased religious system.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
A similar type to the spiritual analyst is The SAGE.
The sage has charismatic and mystical wisdom - the wise old man of the
hills.
Indeed, in Chinese culture, the word philosophy can be translated as
‘sage-learning’ or ‘the learning of sages’.
This is not a phiolsopher who attends to religious matters exclusively, but
one who holds an enigmatic power over a community or disciples.
Perhaps Jesus can be regarded as a SAGE - one who imparts a ‘system’
of wisdom as a means of bettering the lives of those who adopt his
teachings.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
Another type of philosopher might be called the Super Scientist, or
Total Philosopher
This thinker claims to combine analytical knowledge from many
disciplines in one overarching theory of all knowledge - from science to
religion, from economics to psychology.
In the West we have had Aristotle as one such ‘total’ thinker, and
more recently a figure like Marx who sought to understand the natural
sciences, human life and political economy in one thesis.
This in principle is not unlike Plato’s erudite academician, but the remit
of the total philosopher is, of course, wider.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
Another important type of philosopher is the Skeptic.
The skeptic is one who applies dialectical powers to the analysis
of weakness and error in proposed systems.
The skeptic challenges convention and tradition, and presents
good reason for others to be skeptical of convention and
tradition.
Customarily the skeptic holds a minority view, and cultivates an
incessant questioning despite a marginalised position.
Nietzsche is regarded as a great skeptic who challenged the
primacy of God, and conventions of human understanding.
In current affairs, Noam Chomsky can be seen to continue a
skeptical lineage which stretches back to Socrates.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
The Professional Philosopher is
perhaps another type.
This is one who has a rigorous
knowledge of philosophy, the history
of philosophy, and current debates.
S/he does not necessarily
philosophise, as the previous
characters do, but s/he will be a
powerful intellect who can
understand developments in the
history of thinking.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
2
There are many overlaps here between types. But three broad
themes in philosophic practice stand out:
WISDOM - spiritual, political, ethical
WORLDVIEW - metaphysical, scientific or religious
CRITIC - skeptic, challenger, questioner
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
3
What might be a philosophic artwork?
Or, put another way, can a work of art…
Impart wisdom?
Present a worldview?
Act as skeptic?
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Tintoretto Christ at the Sea of Galilee 1575/80
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Vermeer Lacemaker c1670
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Warhol Red Race Riot 1963
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Monet Rouen Cathedral 1894
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Gericault Raft of the Medusa 1819
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
Chapman brothers
Zygotic acceleration, biogenetic,
de-sublimated libidinal model,
1995
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October
4
Practising and Practicing Philosophy
Practising requires Learning of established wisdom and erudition
Powers of reasoning and argument
Questioning mind
Practicing requires all of the above and, crucially Breakdown or cross-over of the abstract-aesthetic and practical worlds.
CCS 2005-2006
Stages 2 and 3
Philosophy in Modern and
Contemporary Art
Lecture One Monday 3rd October