Sarah Nelson
Formalism says that the purpose of art is to present
ideals that form reality and influence our actions. Romanticism says that a
large part of art is to express emotions that are not logical but not the only
purpose. I believe that romanticism is more plausible because when looking at
something whether a statue or a painting, it provokes some kind of emotional
response. It could be anger at a portrayal of something that you find offensive
or just a sense of serenity. There is always some emotion triggered by seeing
art and that is why I believe it is more plausible.
Romanticism
has more explanatory breadth because its purpose is not merely limited to the
emotions that are expressed within art. This is compared to formalism that only
has one purpose for art. The ideals that are portrayed in art do not extend to
emotions that are portrayed as they are entirely different things. Ideals only
cover a portion of art as not all art have ideals such as abstract art. However
abstract art expresses emotion through the choice of colors used and the layout
of the artwork.
They
have equal explanatory depth as they present the their respective things but it
is merely presenting it and giving evidence through the art work but the viewer
has to come up with their own interpretation and back it up with the evidence
found within the work. It could be through the colors chosen, the objects
within the piece or the way things are portrayed.
Formalism
is more simplistic as it has only has one purpose for art while romanticism has
multiple for art. Romanticism claims that emotions is a large part of art but
not all of it while formalism says that art portrays ideals and that is it.
For
conservatism romanticism is more conservative. People go to art museums to
appreciate art and to relax as it makes them happy. With art people don’t
always take the time to analyze it as with emotion they are immediate and
therefore it is more conservative.
Romanticism and formalism are the most plausible
explanations of the purpose of art.
Romanticism has more conservatism and breadth while
formalism is more simplistic.
Therefore romanticism is the best explanation of the
purpose of art.
I agree with your views on romanticism behind the reasoning of art. However, I disagree with the statement that both formalism and romanticism have the same amount of explanatory depth. I believe that because formalism just stays on the surface of depicting ideals it does not have much depth. Within romanticism, the idea goes deeper into talking about emotional causes for the reasoning which go far past just the singular reason for the existence of art according to formalism.
ReplyDeleteI as well chose Romanticism as the best explanation of the purpose of art. A suggestion would be to bring in the critiques of formalism. As its aesthetic standard is seen to be too narrow and should be sublime.
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