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ORDER OUT OF CHAOSClassical Concepts in Art and Beauty
ARISTOTLE
Exemplars and Ethical Beauty: Order out of the Accidents of History and Nature
Laocoön
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
It is clear, then, from what we have said that the poet must be a "maker" not of verses but of stories,
since he is a poet in virtue of his "representation," and what he represents is action. Even supposing he
represents what has actually happened, he is none the less a poet, for there is nothing to prevent some
actual occurrences being the sort of thing that would probably or inevitably happen, and it is in virtue of
that that he is their “maker."
—Aristotle, Poetics
CATEGORIES
Substantial Accidental
General
BeingBeing named
‘David’
Specific
Being Brave,
Creative, &
Wise
Being Human
Being a Warrior,
Poet, & King
portrayal
Depiction {
{ being David
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
Substantial Accidental
General
Having Hair
Specific
Being Brave
Being Human
Being a warrior with
Short Spiky
Hair
Su
bsta
nce
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
Dying Gaul
Substance
Accident
Accident
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
Donatello, Feast of Herod
Exemplar
History
History
…poetry is something more scientific and serious than history, because poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts…. By a "general truth" I mean the sort of thing that a certain type of man will do or say either probably or
Ajax and Odysseus
Exemplar
History
History
What we have said already makes it further clear that a poet's object is not to tell what actually happened but what could an
Hercules killing Centaur Nessus
by Giambologna
The objects the imitator represents
are actions, with agents who are
necessarily either good men or
bad—the diversities of human
character being nearly always
derivative from this primary
distinction, since the line between
virtue and vice is one dividing the
whole of mankind. It follows,
therefore, that the agents
represented must be either above
our own level of goodness, or
beneath it, or just such as we are….
—Aristotle, Poetics Massacchio, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CHARACTERS
In respect of Character there are
four things to be aimed at. First, and
most important, it must be good.
Now any speech or action that
manifests moral purpose of any kind
will be expressive of character: the
character will be good if the purpose
is good.
—Aristotle, Poetics
Donatello, Penitent Magdalene
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CHARACTERS
The second thing to aim at is propriety. There is a type of manly valor
… unscrupulous cleverness is inappropriate.
Brunelleschi, Sacrificeof Isaac
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CHARACTERS
Ghiberti, Sacrificeof Isaac
Ghiberti, Sacrificeof Isaac Brunelleschi, Sacrificeof Isaac
Thirdly, character must be true to
life: for this is a distinct thing from
goodness and propriety, as here
described. The fourth point is
consistency: for though the
subject of the imitation, who
suggested the type, be
inconsistent, still he must be
consistently inconsistent.
Drunken Satyr or Barberini Faun
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CHARACTERS
POIESIS: CHARACTERS
Character is that which reveals
choice, shows what sort of
thing a man chooses or avoids
in circumstances where the
choice is not obvious, so those
speeches convey no character
in which there is nothing
whatever which the speaker
chooses or avoids.
–Aristotle, Poetics
Dürer, Melancholia
ARISTOTLE’S EXEMPLARS
Exemplars are a form of depiction which may be composed of
an agglomeration of features from various individuals that
mimic the essential traits of the species and are free from
accidental defects that can mar individuals. For Aristotle,
beauty is exhibited in exemplars because they are more than
merely agglomerations of properties, but also exhibit an living
harmony which Aristotle called organic unity.
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
Rising Action
By "plot" I mean here the arrangement of the incidents…. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for
Falling Action
Climax
Reversal
ARISTOTLE’S POIESIS: CREATIVE MAKING
Rising Action
The most important of these is the arrangement of the incidents, for tragedy is not a representation of men but of a piece of
Falling Action
Climax
Reversal
Leonardo, Last Supper
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUOUS EXEMPLARSExemplars are not static but are about actions which reveal the
character of individuals and illustrate the excellences of a species,
or virtues. For Aristotle, virtues are excellences which lie between
two extremes called vices, just as courage lies between cowardice
and foolhardiness. When exemplars exhibit organic unity they are
beautiful and may evoke an emotional purging in the audience,
called catharsis.
Examples of virtuous exemplars can be found in basic human
actions such as laughing, crying, and struggling in figurative
paintings, sculptures, and drama. The Four Cardinal Virtues are
Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, and Justice and Aristotle (among
others) thought they were exemplary human virtues.
The defect corresponding to the
magnificent disposition is called
Paltriness, and the excess
Vulgarity.… The latter vices do
not exceed by spending too
great an amount on proper
objects, but by making a great
display on the wrong occasions
and in the wrong way.
The magnificent man is an
artist in expenditure: he can
discern what is suitable, and
spend great sums with good
taste.
–Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
IV.4-5
Athena Parthenos Replica in Nashville
ARISTOTLE’S MAGNIFICENCE
REFLECTIONS
Are the added statues by Frederick Hart exemplary, in
Aristotle’s sense of the term?
Maya Lin describes a “journey” from looking up the name of
a loved one to finding it on the Memorial—how does this
compare to Aristotle’s concept of plot or catharsis?
How does the film compare to Aristotle’s concept of plot? Is
Maya Lin exemplary?