Welcome all!
Posted: October 3rd, 2004, 7:16 pm
Welcome to "the Anti-Academy" -- or shall i say "the (anti)Academy?!" -- the full subtitle of this studio is: aesthetics or philosophy of art; cultural and literary theory; and critical social thought. thus the discussion range is wide and hopefully the discussion will be invigorating but aboive all, joyous.
my moderating function will i hope be slight to nil (i am opposed to censorship as a firm mater of principle, though all principles can run up against their limits).
i expect to post an original essay and/or discussion topic, roughly each week, to which comments and discussion are encouraged. discussion can branch off from there, but also everyone is encouraged to start discussions from topics of their own devising.
so, feel free to post a question or message to start a discussion on any topic that is related to the themes mentioned above and in what follows.
some suggested themes and problems for discussion (some are obvious questions, though have provided endless room for debate throughout the ages; others reflect concerns of noticably recent vintage):
What is art? What do we mean by "art"?
What is poetry? What is literature?
How are the various arts -- such as painting, music, poetry, drama, pottery, sculpting, dance -- similar and different from one another?
What is the role of the artist in society? How does politics impact art (and vice versa)?
How are art and technology related? What distinguishes art from science?
What is "modern art"? What is postmodernism?
What makes artistic and literary movements succeed or not?
How do the categories -- at various levels -- that we use in describing art, affect the ways we perceive it (e.g. the concept of "beauty" or "surreal" or "absurd" or "meaning")?
all of these questions are distinct yet they are all interrelated. how? that is what we hope to work out. of course, these are only a few questions and they are notably abstract. we can of course ask and discussion more concrete topics as well.
my moderating function will i hope be slight to nil (i am opposed to censorship as a firm mater of principle, though all principles can run up against their limits).
i expect to post an original essay and/or discussion topic, roughly each week, to which comments and discussion are encouraged. discussion can branch off from there, but also everyone is encouraged to start discussions from topics of their own devising.
so, feel free to post a question or message to start a discussion on any topic that is related to the themes mentioned above and in what follows.
some suggested themes and problems for discussion (some are obvious questions, though have provided endless room for debate throughout the ages; others reflect concerns of noticably recent vintage):
What is art? What do we mean by "art"?
What is poetry? What is literature?
How are the various arts -- such as painting, music, poetry, drama, pottery, sculpting, dance -- similar and different from one another?
What is the role of the artist in society? How does politics impact art (and vice versa)?
How are art and technology related? What distinguishes art from science?
What is "modern art"? What is postmodernism?
What makes artistic and literary movements succeed or not?
How do the categories -- at various levels -- that we use in describing art, affect the ways we perceive it (e.g. the concept of "beauty" or "surreal" or "absurd" or "meaning")?
all of these questions are distinct yet they are all interrelated. how? that is what we hope to work out. of course, these are only a few questions and they are notably abstract. we can of course ask and discussion more concrete topics as well.