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Class 1: Introduction
Phil230-0401: Philosophy of the Arts
Summer 2006, Session II: 07/17/06-08/06/06
M/Tu/W/Th/F 1:00 – 3:40 pm Skinner 1112
Darren Hudson Hick
Office: Skinner 1110A
Office Tel: (301) 405-4747
Home Tel: (301) 439-4151
E-mail: darrenhick@hotmail.com
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus
Course Requirements
• Regular class attendance and careful study of
assigned readings. There will be a term paper (30%),
a cumulative final exam (30%), and two short writing
assignments (15% each). Class attendance and
participation will make up the final 10%.
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Grading and Late Assignments
• Your final grade will depend on the percentage you
earn of the total points possible in the class:
A+: 98-100; A: 94-97; A: 90-93;B+: 87-89;
B: 84-86; B-: 80-83; C+: 77-79; C: 74-76;
C: 70-73; D+: 67-69; D: 64-66; D-: 60-63.
• Assignments submitted late will receive a penalty of
one letter grade (10%) per day late.
• Due to the compact schedule of the course, there will
be no opportunities for extra-credit assignments.
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Absences
• You need not e-mail me to let me know you will miss a
class unless there is an assignment due or an exam on
that day. In that case, you will need to provide a
university-approved justification for your absence in
order to be allowed to take a make-up exam or to
hand in the assignment late.
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Special Accommodations
• Students with disabilities that require special class or
exam accommodations must present a form from
Disabilities Services specifying their needs during the
first week of classes.
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Classroom Courtesy
• Please be courteous to your fellow students and avoid
unnecessary disruptions. Arrive on time, leave on
time, and turn off your cell phone during class.
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Class Schedule
 Materials must be read before the day for which they
are listed.
 Writing assignments listed are due at the beginning of
class.
 Readings may be subject to change.
 Materials marked [JSTOR] can be accessed through
www.jstor.org using university computers, or via the
research port on the university library website
(www.lib.umd.edu).
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Class 1: Introduction
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Class Schedule (cont’d)
 Materials marked [Online Archives] can be accessed
in the course reserves via the catalog on the university
library website (www.lib.umd.edu).
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Class 1: Introduction
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Class 1: Introduction
Syllabus (cont’d)
Class Schedule (cont’d)
Class 2: Defining Art
Class 3: Aesthetic Properties
Class 4: The Nature of Art
Class 5: High & Low Art
Class 6: Interpreting Art
Class 7: Fiction
Class 8: Genres
Class 9: Literature
Class 10: Music
Class 11: Pictorial Art
Class 12: Film
Class 13: Dance
Class 14: Theater
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Class 1: Introduction
Some Basic Concepts
• “Aesthetics” vs. “Philosophy of Art”
• Classification vs. Evaluation
- Art vs. Non-Art
- Good Art vs. Bad Art
• Taste vs. Value
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions
I. Mimeticism
• From the Greek: Imitation, Representation
• Mimicry
- Likeness & Resemblance
- Convention & Illusion
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Class 1: Introduction
Duccio di Buoninsegna , Maestà
(1288-1300)
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Class 1: Introduction
Aquaman Cover
(1963)
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions
I. Mimeticism
• From the Greek: Imitation, Representation
• Mimicry
- Likeness & Resemblance
- Convention & Illusion
- Trompe L’oeil
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Class 1: Introduction
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Class 1: Introduction
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Class 1: Introduction
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions
I. Mimeticism
• From the Greek: Imitation, Representation
• Mimicry
- Likeness & Resemblance
- Convention & Illusion
- Trompe L’oeil
- Photorealism
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Class 1: Introduction
Audrey Flack, Crayola
(1972-3)
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Class 1: Introduction
Richard Estes, Park Row Looking Towards City Hall
(1992)
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions
I. Mimeticism
• From the Greek: Imitation, Representation
• Mimicry
- Likeness & Resemblance
- Convention & Illusion
- Trompe L’oeil
- Photorealism
• Plato’s Republic
• Problems
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Class 1: Introduction
Claude Monet, The Boat Studio
(1876)
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions
I. Mimeticism
• From the Greek: Imitation, Representation
• Mimicry
- Likeness & Resemblance
- Convention & Illusion
- Trompe L’oeil
- Photorealism
• Plato’s Republic
• Problems
- Counterintuitive
- Direction of art changes
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions (cont’d)
II. Expressionism
(i) Idealist Theory of Art
• Beneditto Croce & R.G. Collingwood
- Collingwood: “Craft” vs. “Art”
- Craft is physical; art is physical and mental
- Art/Non-Art Distinction: What differentiates art is
the intention to express some inner state: if one is
able to express oneself, one has produced art.
• Problems
- Counterintuitive
- No way to confirm if something is art or not.
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Class 1: Introduction
Defining Art: Essentialist Definitions (cont’d)
II. Expressionism (cont’d)
(ii) Infection Theory of Art
• Leo Tolstoy, What Is Art?
- Art is determined by communication
- Communication is composed of two parts:
1. Expression (similar to Collingwood)
2. Infection: What is expressed by the artist is
reproduced in, and understood by, the audience.
• Problems
- Counterintuitive
- No way to confirm if something is art or not.
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Class 1: Introduction
Marcel Duchamp, Fountain
(1917)