Expression is a trap that Western Aesthetics has been caught in for hundreds of years. Art by no means needs to express anything. It doesn't even need to mean anything at all (although it certainly can). How much great art from around the world, across cultures, do you think was made to express/mean something?
Example: Baroque music. This was party music of the time (for rich people). Composers sat down and wrote whole pieces by applying simple, programmatic rules. Types of songs were organized by the way in which people would dance to them. The music was there to entertain -- not be a means of artistic expression.
Why can't we be OK with doing that now? Just be overt about "Hey this [painting, song, sculpture, etc.] doesn't mean or express anything at all. I just made it to kick ass and be awesome."
No comments:
Post a Comment