That aphorism you quote is of course referring to art that is the genuine article, not just something designated or accepted as art. To my mind, what is carried by and inherent in the pleasure is a sense of rightness mixed with wonder, a delight in discovering that a fruitful idea, impulse or intuition has taken tangible form and become manifest, and that its rightness is a validation and a gift.
What you call the politically prejudiced I would call the politically corrupted, if not possessed. It is a state that is essentially anti-human, and its manifestations reflect that perversion.
Back to page 20: "When they find that they have ridden and ridden-maybe for years, full tilt-in what is for them a mistaken direction, they must unearth within themselves some readiness to turn direction and to gallop off again."
Steady watch over one's ego is a recurring theme in this journal-and insightful. Ego is needed to sustain ones belief in oneself, but gets in the way of art making. Perhaps it is being "present" in one's work, but this sounds too pat.
I was struck by her reference to artifacts in perception:
"We have been discussing photography in our seminar. My students look at artifacts as habitually as I read. They take it as much for granted that a significant part of their experience consists of reproductions of visual reality..."
Current culture is immersed in, and it seems, oblivious to, the reproduction of just about everything-NFT's, video, TV, paintings posted on Instagram, etc. It reminds me of the David Foster Wallace fish bit at a commencement speech he gave: two young fish are swimming along and pass a much older fish. The older fish says "hi boys how the water?" The two young fish look at each other and one says "what the hell is water?"
"Art rides in on pleasure" applies to any real art, of course, not just visual art. That includes music, which reminds me of the work of Handel, who was greatly admired by both Mozart and Beethoven. The latter said of Handel "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means."
That aphorism you quote is of course referring to art that is the genuine article, not just something designated or accepted as art. To my mind, what is carried by and inherent in the pleasure is a sense of rightness mixed with wonder, a delight in discovering that a fruitful idea, impulse or intuition has taken tangible form and become manifest, and that its rightness is a validation and a gift.
What you call the politically prejudiced I would call the politically corrupted, if not possessed. It is a state that is essentially anti-human, and its manifestations reflect that perversion.
Back to page 20: "When they find that they have ridden and ridden-maybe for years, full tilt-in what is for them a mistaken direction, they must unearth within themselves some readiness to turn direction and to gallop off again."
Steady watch over one's ego is a recurring theme in this journal-and insightful. Ego is needed to sustain ones belief in oneself, but gets in the way of art making. Perhaps it is being "present" in one's work, but this sounds too pat.
I was struck by her reference to artifacts in perception:
"We have been discussing photography in our seminar. My students look at artifacts as habitually as I read. They take it as much for granted that a significant part of their experience consists of reproductions of visual reality..."
Current culture is immersed in, and it seems, oblivious to, the reproduction of just about everything-NFT's, video, TV, paintings posted on Instagram, etc. It reminds me of the David Foster Wallace fish bit at a commencement speech he gave: two young fish are swimming along and pass a much older fish. The older fish says "hi boys how the water?" The two young fish look at each other and one says "what the hell is water?"
I ordered the book 😊
"Art rides in on pleasure" applies to any real art, of course, not just visual art. That includes music, which reminds me of the work of Handel, who was greatly admired by both Mozart and Beethoven. The latter said of Handel "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means."