Book by Susan G. Josephson
Preface
THIS BOOK TOOK SHAPE out of my many years teaching philosophy to
professional art students at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
There I have had many discussions about what is happening in art, and
the future direction of culture with the advent of the computer and
television. From these discussions an understanding of the cultural evolu-
tion of visual art in all its forms began to emerge. I found that there was no
book which really told the philosophy behind all of the visual arts that I
could use as a text in my classes. This was the beginning of this book in the
form of long handouts to my students which attempted to fill in the gap
between what I wanted to teach and the available textbooks.
This book records the conclusions that I came to as I thought
through the cultural evolution of each of the different sorts of visual art
and tried to piece together their story from the perspective of philoso-
phy. Chapter 1 discusses how culture shapes art to be what it is from
the outside, like a mold shapes clay, and the great power of art to affect
the way we think and to promote cultural change. Chapter 2 discusses
the evolution of Fine Art from its birth in the Renaissance to its present
old age and decline. Chapter 3 discusses the institutional structures that
make art for popular taste its own sort of art, and the culture wars over
censorship and whether public art should be Fine Art, or art for
popular taste. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the life histories of design and
advertising.
Preface
THIS BOOK TOOK SHAPE out of my many years teaching philosophy to
professional art students at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
There I have had many discussions about what is happening in art, and
the future direction of culture with the advent of the computer and
television. From these discussions an understanding of the cultural evolu-
tion of visual art in all its forms began to emerge. I found that there was no
book which really told the philosophy behind all of the visual arts that I
could use as a text in my classes. This was the beginning of this book in the
form of long handouts to my students which attempted to fill in the gap
between what I wanted to teach and the available textbooks.
This book records the conclusions that I came to as I thought
through the cultural evolution of each of the different sorts of visual art
and tried to piece together their story from the perspective of philoso-
phy. Chapter 1 discusses how culture shapes art to be what it is from
the outside, like a mold shapes clay, and the great power of art to affect
the way we think and to promote cultural change. Chapter 2 discusses
the evolution of Fine Art from its birth in the Renaissance to its present
old age and decline. Chapter 3 discusses the institutional structures that
make art for popular taste its own sort of art, and the culture wars over
censorship and whether public art should be Fine Art, or art for
popular taste. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the life histories of design and
advertising.
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