Eloquence

Principles of Judgment, logos

Judgments are informed critical arguments about the value of a work of art. Critical judgments are much more than opinions. Preference statements, such as "I like it", "I don't like it" do not provide information about the artwork. These are simply psychological reports by the speaker. ¹⁹Judgments must always be grounded in reasons based on definable criteria. ²⁰ The critical operation of making a Judgment about a work of art is similar to Interpretation but the result is different. As Barrett explains, both activities involve making decisions, providing reasons and evidence for those decisions, and formulating arguments in support for one's conclusions. While Interpretation seeks to determine what the work is about, Judgment seeks to establish how good the work is or isn't and why and by what criteria. As for Interpretation, the focus of the critic in making a Judgment is not on being right or wrong, but on being convincing or unconvincing. ²¹

Artwork is relational in that it always exists in relation to other things, people, or events. Understanding the context of a work comes from recognizing that any artwork is made in a certain time and place, when certain ideas were prevalent within a culture. Yet, the context in which a work was made is not always the context in which it is experienced. ²² For students, it is helpful to keep in mind that the relationship between the artwork and the viewer is the reason for the artwork's existence. Aesthetic theories are frameworks applied to artworks to help explain the phenomenon of the relationship between the artwork and the viewer and to determine the work's effectiveness or ineffectiveness in that relationship. Aesthetic theories considered in this unit include Formalism, Imitationalism, Expressionism, Instrumentalism, and Institutionalism. The following explanations are provided for each.

Aesthetic theories

Formalism is a theory of "art for art's sake". According to Formalist thought, the value of a work of art is held in its capacity to elicit a significant response in the viewer through the effective arrangement of the formal elements of art such as line, form, color and texture, space, etc. organized according to the principles of art such as movement, rhythm, pattern, unity, etc. This theory was new to art in the 1930's through the writings of Clive Bell and his emphasis on "significant form". For Bell, narrative content in a work was a distraction from the aesthetic and should be ignored. Formalism is the basic premise behind appreciation of Modern art. In the 1950s and 1960s the influential writings of Clement Greenberg defined abstraction in art especially Minimalism. ²³

Imitationalism (Mimetic) follows that art mirrors reality of the world around us. This theory is as old as the ancient Greeks, backed by the authority of Aristotle who espoused that the world of nature was the standard for beauty and truth. The artist could do no better than to accurately portray the universe in its limitless variety. ²⁴ Many people, including a large portion of adolescent students, tend to judge art according to standards for Imitationalism. Paintings and sculptures are often judged by how realistically they portray the subject matter. Indeed the artist is thought of as "talented" to the extent that he or she can draw or paint things as they actually appear. ²⁵

Expressionism favors that artists create art to produce emotive responses in the viewer. Artists' inner lives are potent and their feelings about experiences are the source of their art. They use mediums and forms and subject matter to express themselves vividly, so that the viewer may experience similar feelings. Expressionists embrace art about life. ²⁶

Instrumentalism plays prominently in today's world as a form of persuasive communication as art made for the purpose of influencing change within society. Success within the artworld is not the primary goal. Instrumentalist theory follows that the identity of the artist and the significance of the work are aligned with cultural activism as it involves rethinking the role of production, distribution and the audience as crucial components of the artwork. Feminist and Marxist critics are largely Instrumentalists. ²⁷

Institutionalism defines works of art by the ways in which objects or events are treated in society. For Institutionalism the focus is not on the characteristics of the object or its expressive qualities but rather, on social practices accompanying the work. The philosopher Arthur Danto coined the word "artworld" to refer to the community of individuals involved with creating, curating, collecting, selling, studying and writing about artworks. Something is a work of art when "artworld" members acknowledge certain objects as perceived, interpreted, or judged as works of art. ²⁸