But is Art

RUBRIC CATEGORY

CAPSTONE LEVEL DEFINITION

Explanation of Issues

Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated clearly and described comprehensively, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding.

What is the issue or question for this chapter? Is it stated clearly? If not, what is unclear about it?

· What theory applies to such difficult work?

· The question is clear, builds off of the last chapter’s unresolved ending, and is located right at the beginning of this chapter’s introductions.

Evidence

Selecting and using information to investigate a point of view or conclusion

Information is taken from source(s) with enough interpretation/evaluation to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Viewpoints of experts are questioned thoroughly.

What are the primary sources for this chapter?

· She has five major primary sources that range from Ancient Greece to 1960s Pop Art. The are the Greek drama Medea by Euripides, the cathedral at Chartres, the gardens at Versaille, the Wagner opera Parsifal, and Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes

What are the secondary sources?

· The main ones are the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, the master at Chartres and Thomas Aquinas, Emmanuel Kant, Nietzsche, and Arthur C. Danto.

Are the secondary sources appropriate? How do you know?

· They are appropriate, because Freeland uses each philosopher or critic to frame an interpretation of the primary source under consideration. For instance, she uses Danto to help find meaning in Warhol’s works while Aristotle is used to find meaning in Medea. She does not try to apply Aristotle out of context. Rather, she chooses each secondary source to relate to the context and ideas of the primary source in pursuit of the answer to the research question that drives this chapter.

Are the secondary sources taken as givens/absolutes? Or, does the author engage with them in an interrogative way?

· Freeland does engage with them. She finds that Nietzsche for instance contradicts himself or his approach to Wagner anyways over the course of his life. She uses her secondary sources as starting points for her own engagement with the material. They are not taken as absolutes.

Influence of Context and Assumptions

Thoroughly (systematically and methodically) analyzes own and others’ assumptions and carefully evaluates the relevance of contexts when presenting a position.

What is the context(s) for this chapter?

· The context for this chapter is a tour through the history of Western Art from Ancient Greece to the Contemporary Art World in America.

· Freeland goes on this broad tour trying to figure out how to account for difficult works of art having found in the previous chapter that Ritual Theory and Aesthetics/Taste/Beauty are not useful frameworks for making sense of contemporary art.

What assumption(s) is revealed in this chapter?

· That there are multiple media of “Art” under consideration (drama, architecture, gardening, opera, and fine art/sculpture).

· The art under consideration is all western art.

· All the artists are men, all the critics are men, too.

· We can assume that Freeland thinks that her secondary sources are relevant and knew what they were talking about when it came to art and art criticism.

To what extent are the contexts and assumptions evaluated? Relevant? Questioned?

· That this chapter is all about Western art is evaluated at the end when she sets up the transition to Chapter 3, “Cultuarl Crossings,” which will look at definitions of art in a global context.

Author’s position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis)

Specific position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) is imaginative, taking into account the complexities of an issue. Limits of position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) are acknowledged. Others’ points of view are synthesized within position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis).

What is the author’s position?

· Freeland is exploring this broad variety of primary sources, ultimately trying to come up with a definition of art that can help make sense of both classical work in its context as well as contemporary work.

· Is there a shared language for talking about and understanding art?

· Can art be understood outside of its context?

Does it engage with the complexities of the issue?

· Yes

Are its limitations acknowledged? If so, how?

· Yes, she demonstrates an awareness of the limits of her sample size in terms of data with her comments on moving on to global art objects in chapter 3.

Are others’ points of view incorporated into the author’s position?

· Yes, particularly Arthur C. Danto’s analysis and interpretation of Warhol and his definition of Art and Criticism.

Conclusions and related outcomes (implications and consequences)

Conclusions and related outcomes (consequences and implications) are logical and reflect author’s informed evaluation and ability to place evidence and perspectives discussed in priority order.

What does the author conclude?

· Freeland concludes with a definition of art by citing Arthur C. Danto: “a work of art is an object that embodies a meaning. ‘Nothing is a work of art without an interpretation that constitutes it as such.’”

· She also comes up with the task of criticism by citing Danto: “The task of criticism is to identify the meanings and explain their mode of embodiment.”

What are the implications for this chapter (i.e., so what?)? What do we learn?

· As her readers we have a shared definition for art that we can carry forward which will help us look for and identity meaning in future chapters and conversations, especially as we look for the ways in which artist are trying to communicate ideas.

· As critics-in-training, we now have a mission statement for our work: to identify meaning and explain its mode of embodiment. This introduces for us the final steps of critical thinking. In order, then, they are:

· Summary/Description

· Analysis

· Interpretation

· Evaluation

· Explanation

· The reason we’re engaged in these efforts is to identify meaning (summary, analysis, and interpretation) and explain it to others (evaluation and explanation).