Art of Buddhism, Essay Example

One of the most complicated issues in aesthetics is the connection between meaning and form. It is obvious to even the most casual observer that there is a deep marriage between the form that a work of art takes and its meaning. A face carved into a block of granite for example has a far different emotional impact the the same face carved into a mound of mashed potatoes. While this much is obvious, following through to the deeper meaning of form is a difficult and sometimes ambiguous process. Nicholas Wolterstorff, in his study, Art and the Aesthetic: The
Religious Dimension discusses Clive Bell’s notion of an “aesthetic emotion,” and remarks that “joy […] is the aesthetic emotion” (Wolterstorff, 325). The significant connection that the aesthetic emotion has to form is that it is through form that the human mind becomes engaged in contemplation, which leads to the joyous aesthetic emotion.

From this relatively simple premise, Wolterstorff goes on to examine Bell’s argument that is, in effect, a metaphysical foundation for the function and purpose of art. In other words,Bell, as described by Wolterstorff believes that specific forms represent specific emotions that are experienced by artists. When we respond to art, “we are responding to an artist’s expression in form of an emotion felt for that ultimate reality which reveals itself through form” (Wolterstorff, 327). A key phrase in that statement is “ultimate reality” which hints at the previously mentioned metaphysical model for aesthetics. According to Bell, in the marriage of form and emotion, there is an implied transcendental meaning that encourages the view of art and aesthetics as sacred and religious acts.

The two main lines of counter-argument that immediately leap to mind are, obviously, those that are rooted in practical rather than metaphysical interpretations. The first line of argument has to do with whether or not there is, in fact, an “aesthetic emotion” and whether or not such a postulated faculty is a universal attribute or whether it only functions in an elect number of people. The second line of counter-argument would, of course, be leveled at the idea that certain forms represent certain emotions. While it is true that certain forms, such as the Cross or Swastika, can become historically associated with specific ideas or even emotions, it is foolish to suggest that all crosses and all  swastikas mean the same thing to everyone who has ever seen them. Setting aside the objections for the moment, however, it is evident that the connection between emotion and form that is mentioned by Bell exists it is less certain whether this indicates a religious or metaphysical function that exist innately in artistic expression and in the contemplation of form and emotion.

As Wolterstorff notes, there can be no greater issues in relation to aesthetics and art. If it could be firmly established that artistic expression is the result of metaphysical forces, the very root of aesthetics would be understood. However, the metaphysical aspects of art and aesthetics are not as clear as Bell’s argument would have them. In fact, as Wolterstorff asks, “How does that metaphysical fact intrude itself, as it were, into the experience” (Wolterstorff, 331) of viewing or experiencing a work of art? Another way of stating it would be: it is necessary, from a theoretical view, to know at what point art becomes a metaphysical rather than purely sensual experience. The basis for answering this question, as mentioned earlier, has traditionally been in the connection between emotion and form.

The basic problem in evaluating the nature of the aesthetic emotion and therefore uncovering one of the primary functions of art, is assigning the aesthetic emotion’s purpose. the metaphysical approach to aesthetics is rooted in a contemplative emotional response the ultimate reveals the secrets of form and emotion and therefore the underpinnings of reality. Against this vision, Wolterstorff offers a counter-argument that is based in the emotion of commemoration of memory. The idea is that the feeling of veneration we have when experiencing a great work of art comes not from its connection to an ultimate reality, but to its connection to human history and its cultural significance. He writes that “Evidently something deep in us comes to expression in our surrounding ourselves with commemorative objects and in our repetitively engaging in commemorative activities” (Wolterstorff,336). This is a way of understanding form and emotion as being tied to human memory and the need to devise symbolic cues for leaving important markers of knowledge and experience.

Both the metaphysical and commemoration approaches to the function of art and aesthetics are compelling. Neither of the approaches seem independently adequate to explaining the nature of the aesthetic emotion, but taken together, the two perspectives do lend a great deal of evidence for the existence of such an emotion. It is probably impossible to quantify the nature of aesthetics and art to the degree that either approach would like to establish. There is an essential ambiguity or mystery in the connection between emotion and form that eludes description and measurement.  The idea that specific form connect to specific emotions and thereby reveal fundamental aspects of an ultimate reality does not seem to be supported by art that eschews form or eludes formal criticism. Likewise, the commemorative conception of aesthetics is more readily evidenced in works of obvious iconic value but it seems less applicable to the idiosyncratic expression of artists who work outside of cultural context and commemorate subjective or even purely psychological events, such as Surrealists. One thing than is clearly established by the idea of the aesthetic emotion is that art is indeed the medium by which emotion and important ideas are best transmitted. This includes ideas of the sacred, or religious experiences, even if a direct correlation between aesthetic experience and metaphysical realities is unsupportable by our current level of knowledge.