Dominic

Co

Word Count: 1569

What can we learn from art that we cannot learn from

the other areas of knowledge? Derive a knowledge
issue from this statement and compare what can we
learn about the human condition from the arts as
opposed to other areas.
Word Count: 1569
Dominic Co

Dominic Co

Word Count: 1569

Prompt: What can we learn from art that we cannot learn from the other
areas of knowledge? Derive a knowledge issue from this statement and
compare what can we learn about the human condition from the arts as
opposed to other areas.

People are certainly a diverse crowd. We are composed of many individually

minded beings of different races, places and beliefs. Yet, at the same time, we all can
share similar traits that may or may not be intrinsic to human nature and this is
what the arts and the other areas of knowledge try to show. However, the validity of
their explanations can sometimes lead to conflict between the arts and them which
leads us to question: To what extent do the arts hold more universal truth in the
depiction of the human condition as compared to the sciences?

The core proof of any science is reason followed by sense perception and

language. It is a branch of knowledge that pursues objectivity and empirical

evidence to derive meaning and generalizations of society and the world. Love
between two people, for example, can be explained through a series of stages
composed of different groups of hormones. Despite the success of this methodology
in explaining many of our natural phenomena, this is also where sciences weakness
lies. It lacks the qualitative aspect that art can express. Oxytoxin released during the
attachment stage of love is responsible for bonding relationship between lovers, yet
this same hormone is also released during breastfeeding between mother and child.
This does not mean, however, that a lovers relationship is the same as that of
mother and child; we can only infer that it is a function that causes bonding. From
here, art can express this relationship on a more personal level which people may
relate and understand through literature, painting and many more.

Although the use of art as means to communicate appeals to humans both

emotionally and sometimes physically, it is also subjective in its nature of depicting

the truth. When artists produce artworks, there lies an idea of subjectiveness; what

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he depicts is his personal view of the world and what he considers true and
important. For example, I once painted a portrait of a stern woman in an elegant
dress, but my friend perceived her as a prostitute. In my eyes, I still believed that my
painting was what it was, but that did not mean my friends interpretation was
unjustified. Through this example, it can be implied that art holds no unanimous
truth and interpretations of artworks are personal truths. We see that art is a way of
language in which not everyone may understand equally. Neuroscience describes
this as perceptual capacities that are constrained by our brain (No, 2011). Artists
can only create art on what they see and what they can feel; I cannot see ultraviolet
light and I also cannot convince my friend to see my painting differently.

However this does not mean that art is entirely false; while objectivity, such
as in the sciences, is absolute truth. Pablo Picasso once said, Art is a lie that leads
us to uncover the truth. He suggests that art is our perception of what the world is
not. In other words, the arts function is to remind (or show) people of their own
beauty and freedom through an idealized illusion of beauty and freedom (Knox
Hugels Aesthetics, 1975). By this definition, art essentially reminds us of a truth of
the human condition; for example, when my mom goes to watch stage plays, she
feels a sense of lightness as if her spirits are lifted; this concept is called catharsis.
In this way she leaves the play feeling not as heavy as she did before. We can relate
this feeling to the universal analogy of wearing glasses. Before we wear glasses,
everything seems a blur and we become desensitized to the existence of the things
around us, but when we wear glasses, we notice these things clearer and recognize
their existence and our own existence within them. In this way, we see the true
reality of our environment and not the reality we perceived through imperfect
vision in which we are born or raised up with.

This function of art, however, described by Picasso in the depiction of the

human condition isnt universal. It is subjective in the sense that humans may feel
differently about different works of art. On a personal note, if I watched the same
plays that my mother watches, I wouldnt really have felt catharsis simply because I

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do not like plays. In fact, I may have felt a bit of jealously of how wonderful the life of
the main character was and grumble in my indignant state. The sciences (like
Psychology) could explain to me why I felt this way and even prescribe certain
treatments for it. The sciences, in contrast to the arts, view the world for what it is
physically in the present through the physical senses which, to the whole human
race, is fundamentally perceivable unlike the so called imperfect vision that we
may have.

From the perspective of a Visual Arts student, what Picasso could also mean
was that we require a certain amount of engagement with the artwork. We can
imagine this concept to be a conversation between two persons. Such as we need a
level of sensitivity and context when chatting with another person, art can be
compared to a humorous gesture that needs effort to understand (No, 2011). We
need to reason out its importance, its lack of importance, its subject and whether or
not under a different context, its meaning could change. When we undergo this
process of analysis, we can we derive an approximate, if not general and unanimous,
truth in human perception.

The sciences likewise have a similar process called the scientific method. In
analyzing and manipulating collected data, accuracy and precision in the scientific
method can only go so far in giving a approximate answer, yet this answer is
generally considered true to certainly large extents. For example, the idea of dark
matter, which holds the universe, is accepted by many and there are many theories
to prove it, yet there isnt enough empirical evidence to support it. We see here that
art and science in there method of estimating the truth are quite similar. However,
this truth may only be accessible to those who are learned; the average joe would
certainly not know artistic criticism and would love it or hate it.

Going back to my painting, if I had convinced my friend to undergo this
philosophical analysis of my work, he may have changed his view. In another case, if
in the hypothetical circumstance that I showed my painting to a 17th century

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renaissance painter, he would immediately dismiss it as an amateur try on basic

painting, not even recognizing the elegant lady I so intended to display. Crooked
brush strokes, bad scene lighting and more importantly, a disproportioned lady
would be all he perceived. The mathematics (i.e. the rule of thirds, perspective, etc.)
behind my painting did not follow that which he may have used to produce the same
lady but more realistically.

Furthermore, the notion that art as a means of expression began very much
late into the 1800s and before this period, classicism in art was considered the ideal
representation of nature and truth. Because my painting did not ascribe to what was
considered reality to his times and culture, my painting would be a false depiction of
the human condition. Therefore we can imply that truth in Art is subject to cultural
differences and periods. Conversely, we can also say that the depiction of a
particular reality accepted by a culture is true for that culture alone.

The sciences may just as well be a culprit to this bias. Going to back to the
example of dark matter, despite the fact that there isnt any empirical evidence to
show dark matter, scientists assumed its existence because it is the only idea that
makes sense to them at the moment. Yet, as time goes by, their beliefs may certainly
change and what would be generally accepted and true would change as well.

Globalization and the breaking down of cultural barriers, however, would
argue that truth and reality in art can be universal as we can see with the Japanese
who appreciate European music and the Brazilians who appreciate Japanese
woodblock prints. Given that I am exposed to modern art, I would consider my
painting another way of depicting the human condition and in this sense, something
true to everyone. Likewise the sciences would also conquer that humans share
similar perceptions of beauty and therefore all our forms of art follow a common
standard hardwired into our brain cells. The calm depiction of a river and
forest/jungle scene with a pathway that invites you to follow is seen to be
preferential in almost any culture (Dutton, 2010); this implies that truth of human

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preferences depicted in art can be universal but shown in different ways. It is here
that we can see an agreement between art and the sciences in the depiction of the
human condition.

Ultimately, art is influenced by subjectivity, cultural differences and the
amount of knowledge we have of it. This suggests that the arts depiction of the
human condition is not universal and only true to a certain degree of stimuli and
intrinsic human preferences. The sciences may also be affected by the same
characteristics and factors that affect art such as the aforementioned, but objectivity
in this area of knowledge is intrinsically much more understandable and
perceivable than the arts as it appeals to us on a more rational and physical level.
Because of this, art holds more subjective truth than universal truth as compared to
the sciences.

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Dominic Co

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Bibliography:

Dutton, D. (2010). A Darwinian Theory Of Beauty. Retrieved July 14, 2012,

from TED:
http://www.ted.com/talks/denis_dutton_a_darwinian_theory_of_beauty
Knox, T.M. (2010). Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Arts. Retrieved July 14, 2012,
from Oxford Clarendon Press, 1975

No, A. (2011). Art and the Limits of Neuroscience. Retrieved July 13, 2012,
from NY Times Opinionater:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/art-and-the-limits-of-
neuroscience/

Atkins, R. (2006). What is Truth in Art?. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from
Beadlust Blog: http://beadlust.blogspot.com/2006/08/what-is-truth-in-art-
thanks-to-all-who.html

Mcloughlin, C. (2006). Science-Love: Cupids Chemistry. Retrieved July 13,

2012, from The Naked Scientists:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/clairemcloughli
ncolumn1.htm/

Picasso, P. (n.d.). Pablo Picassos Quotes On the Nature of Art. Retrieved July

13, 2012, from Think Exist:

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/art_is_a_lie_that_makes_us_realize_truth/1
43234.html

Dominic Co

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