Kimiya-ye-Honar
Year:2015 | Volume:4 | Issue:16|Papers Count:7

This paper considers two questions regarding Kant’s theory of taste: first, considering the accompanying presence of subjective and intersubjective elements in Kant’s theory of taste, what relation does he establish between the subjective and intersubjective aspects of the judgment of taste? The first part of this paper addresses this question through the examination of logical characteristics of the judgment, and discusses that the judgment of taste, in Kant’s account, is an aesthetic judgment which on one hand, is made in total freedom and autonomy of the judging subject, and on the other hand, contains a special kind of universality in its content. Kant calls this special universality by the names of subjective universality, aesthetic universality, and general validity. Having illustrated this relation, the paper turns to the second question which asks: How does Kant manage to establish this relation between the subjective and intersubjective aspects of the judgment of taste? In this regard, it is argued in the second part that, although Kant believes in the subjectivity of the judgment of taste, he regards this subjectivity as a special kind, of which the intersubjectivity is the other side. This point is demonstrated by first clarifying the meaning of the specific subjectivity of the judgment of taste, and then by showing the intersubjective aspect of this subjectivity. Finally, it is suggested that on the basis of the intersubjective universality which is contained in the judgments of taste, Kant views the faculty of taste as a potential which enables empathy between the subjects and de-isolation of them.

The background of symbolic thinking goes back to Kant’s philosophy. Kant first stated it in his philosophical aesthetics. The most important aspect of Langer’s philosophy is to pursuit Kant’s schemas as symbols.Unlike others, Langer claims that art is not a mere expression of feeling and the feeling is not mere pleasure or pain but it is inner life or human mentality. Art or work of art articulates this. Like Cassirer, Langer claims that art is a symbolic form; in other words, instead of being a mere expression of feeling, art can be a symbol of it. It has an isomorphic relation with the structures of human feeling.In this paper, first we will present an explanation of symbolization as an important key in Langer’s philosophy, and then we will indicate the conception of feeling. Finally, we will discuss how a work of art is a symbol of feeling.

George Dickie formulates the institutional theory of art based on two necessary conditions which are sufficient for artmaking. The first condition in various versions of theory claims, primarily, that a work of art has to be an artifact. Dickie intends to use this unexhibited and nonconventional property as the beginning step for taking an argument against antiessentialists, like Weitz, and thus introduce artifactuality as the essential characteristic of art. Holding traditional meaning of artifactuality which is associated with traditional crafts and altering the materials, Dickie developes another meaning which is more suitable for contemporary art. In earlier version of theory he describes it by conferring the statue of artifactuality by some person on behalf of artworld, but in later version he abandons the notion of conferral status and describes it by the notion of using an object as an artistic medium in context of artworld. Despite objection critics consider this argument on artifactuality as an effective factor in defeating anti-essentialism and revival of desire for definition of art.

The present paper is a review of the work of the Polish designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, engraver, and printer Zdzislaw Beksinski. Using symbolic values in an allegorical, symbolic atmosphere on one hand, and utilising surrealism and fantastic realism on the other, he creates a ‘dark art’ in a dystopian world, presented to the audience as in contrast with the utopia. In order to get to the bottom of his concepts this paper tries to answer a key question: whether the application of these styles is an attempt to illustrate the dark, inhumane nature of his time’s political system or his work is inattentive to realities of his time and merely an indulgence in hallucinations of the mainstream Western surrealism and fantastic realism. The paper then moves on to argue, based on its findings, that Beksinski exploits these styles as well as a range of other techniques to express and demonstrate the formation of brutal dictatorships under which ordinary people have suffered and died. The fascist manners of his time’s political regime had indeed resulted in capturing exiled Jewish people, Polish political activists, Soviet POWs, European gipsies, and other allies’ POWs, and thereby caused Beksinski to reject his own earlier performance of abstract and formalist scenes and resort to a fully figurative spatial imagination: what his critics call ‘dark art’ or ‘dystopian surrealism’ and Beksinski himself takes as ‘fantastic realism’.

A significant number of authors, who have debated the characteristics of Iranian arts within philosophy, believe that imaginary and the ideal worlds are the sources of visual arts. They believe that the artist’s imagination, in its rahmanian aspect is the origin of the creation of a real work of art .This research has aimed to explain the world of ideas by means of the characteristics of Iranian visual arts.To achieve this aim, quantitative analysis has been employed to investigate the relevant study materials. On this basis, imagination has been employed by the artist to reach the world of ideas, which is a middle world between materiality and spirituality. The world of ideas contains detached and connected parts. Detached 7 part shapes the generous imagination and connected part illustrates the sensual mind. However, not everyone can realize the detached part; thus, Iranian artists have used pictorial methods to transfer the heritages of the world of idea.Traditionally, it would be ideal if the Iranian artists could use the detached world of idea as a source of inspiration. They were already inspired by the ancient world to use some symbols in order to reflect the generous imagination inside their virtue. This method has been supported by mystical tradition during Islamic age. Therefore, this hypothesis can be raised that the ideal world is the major aspect of Iranian art before and after appearance of Islam.

The relationship between art and morality is one of the most important questions in philosophy of art. “Moderate moralism”, as one of the contemporary approaches calaims that compared to other approaches it provides more appropriate explanation. In this paper, using library data collection and realistic analysis of content, the main theorists of moderate moralism (Carroll, Gaut and Kieran) and their perspectives and arguments are evaluated. The results of this study show that from a moderate moralist point of view, we can make a model for art criticism that considers other aesthetic values as well. The most important contrasts between radical moralist perspectives and moderate moralist perspectives are criterions of covering moral evaluation, using “insofar as principle” and “all things considered principle” and believing in plurality of art values. Also, moderate moralist perspectives have some divisions: Considering the criterions of covering moral evaluation, using “sometimes” or “always” arguments and using “an audience due to the moral features”. Evaluation of these three perspectives shows that the best is that of Gaut.

Courtly Iconography is one of the most important schools of Qajar painting which, relying on new technical features and traditions of Iranian painting, achieved a new kind of visual character. There is a certain kind of ideal objectivity in Iranian painting which regards reality not a form visible by sight, but an ideal one. This ideal form is not necceserily the immaterial aspect of matters, but the nomen of every phenomen which is not seen by human.But Qajar painting considers another type of image properties. These properties are important both in their formal qualities and in specific changes which they embed in themselves. This type of painting relies on formal traits and new material, creating different visual forms in appearance compared to miniature. But regarding the concept of reality in Islamic thought and visual traits of Qajar painting, two conclusions about this school may be deduced: first, in spite of its differences with miniature, by relying upon Islamic thought, this type of painting is actually the continuance of that tradition. Second, the dominant characteristics of Qajar painting can be placed into one category which is in accordance with the concept of foregoing reality.