Summary and Analysis: An Essay in Aesthetics.
An
Essay in Aesthetics
-Roger Fry
The author Roger Fry, in this essay, has expressed his
feelings for art. According to him, art is an expression of a human's imaginative
life, and it is separated from actual life. Art is free from our daily
necessities. It doesn’t fulfill our daily needs but provides pleasures. We feel
sensations (संवेदना, अनुभूति) in
art. An artist expresses his/her imagination in art. Art brings out the
imagination of the artist that matches with spectators' (दर्शकहरुको) feelings,
therefore, art evokes feelings and emotions in their minds.
Graphic art (visual art) is an expression of the
imaginative life. It is not a copy of actual life, separated from actual
life. He uses the example of children, who never copy what they see but
use their own imagination to freely draw. In Actual life, there is responsive
action. In art we have no such responsive action for example if we see a wild
bull, we feel afraid and run away but in imagination, we can stare at it and
observe for as long as we can.
To the pure moralist, art must represent ethical values
and right action, otherwise, it is useless. The Puritanical view is the life of
the imagination is worse than the life of sensual pleasure. The essayist does not
agree with them. He is close to Ruskin, a moralist, (John Ruskin, English
writer and philosopher) to whom imaginative life helps to promote morality and
it is an absolute necessity.
Roger now speaks of religion. Religion is also a
representation of imaginative life. A religiously intelligent person cannot say
that religion can impart complete moral knowledge. In fact, religious
experiences are said to be based on human nature and spiritual ability.
He thinks that pleasures derived from art are different
and more fundamental than merely sensual pleasure. It is not temporary and
material. The feelings of an imaginative life that an artist has shown in
his/her art, are the same feelings, emotions, and attachments spectators or viewers
find when they observe it. Graphic art represents more or less
mankind’s feelings and emotions. He says that we can justify actual life by its
relation to the imaginative and justify nature by its likeness(similarity) to
art.
People have different imaginations at different times they do not always match up with the general level of morality of actual life. Thus, in the thirteenth century, we read of barbarity and cruelty. He admits that today humans’ moral level and general humanity are higher, but the level of imaginative life is lower.
At last, he says that imaginations that are in our
control are desirable but imaginative life that we see in dreams and under the
influence of drugs are undesirable. This desirability separates imaginative
life from actual life. Art is the chief organ of the imaginative life. Art
encourages and controls it. The imaginative life is distinguished by the clearness of its perception, and the greater purity and freedom of its
emotion.
Aesthetics
- the philosophical study of beauty and taste.
Moralist - a person
who teaches or promotes morality. (नैतिकतावादी)
Puritanical - people
who are very strict in moral or religious matters.
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