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From: jimb@ISM780B.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Re: critics (Long!!) What is art?
Message-ID: <27800012@ISM780B.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Sep-85 11:16:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ISM780B.27800012
Posted: Mon Sep 16 11:16:00 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Sep-85 05:32:12 EDT
References: <270@lzwi.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:lzwi:-27000:ISM780B:27800012:000:1778
Nf-From: ISM780B!jimb    Sep 16 11:16:00 1985


>> For me, great art should have both style and structure and the two
>> should complement each other. Experiments with style may be fun for
>> the author and interesting for the literate but without a
>> complementing structure, the result is unlikely to be great art.

>This is, I think, the essence.  Given a story to tell,
>or a theme to explore, a writer may choose from an infinite
>number of structures that will handle it.  Only one, in any
>given case, is the best.  While form and content (terms I'm
>more comfortable with) may be discussed separately, content
>determines form.  It is the interaction (and, frequently,
>the conflict) between them that allows knowledge to develop.
>
>And as for what is art, try this for part of the
>definition: the process of exposing the underlying contradictions
>that are hidden in mundane life through crafting a work
>that is esthetically (sp?) pleasing.

>                        -- SKZB


A mild demure on one point.  The statement "only one (structure), in any
event is the best" assumes that the "best" is definable, recognizable, and
agreed upon.  Each structure will yield a unique combination of effects;
which combination of effects is the best depends on auctorial intent, which
is something that even the author may not be consciously aware of, and the
aggregate perceptions of the readership, which is culturally determined and
will vary with time and society.

That many classics are widely agreed to be be great works is only indicative
that the authors struck pretty close to dealing with raw universal truths
that seem [so far] to transcend time and culture.

      -- can I borrow a cute tag line from anyone --  Jim Brunet

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