Saturday, March 1, 2008

Notes on Tolstoy, What is Art? Ch. 9

(Originally Written Mar. 1, 2008 in the Journal).

What is Art?
Leo Tolstoy

Chapter 9

The perversion of art has weakened art and nearly destroyed it. Art has been deprived of its infinite, varied and profound religious subject matter by the faithless upper class.

Since art is viewed by only a small group it has lost its beauty of form and become obscure. Art has lost its sincerity and has become artificial.

Art product is only art when it transmits a new feeling, not a regurgitated one.

There is nothing older and more used than mere enjoyment. There is nothing newer or more fresh then the religious feelings of the day.

Man's enjoyment has natural limitations, but his religious progression is limitless.

New feelings can only be formed by new religious convictions.

The lack of belief in the upper classes has deprived them of any subject matter for art.

The rich and the powerful and thusly idle, experience very little and all can be summed up to three feelings: pride, sexual desire and the weariness of life. The lack of belief in the upper classes has sunk their transmissions down to the feelings of pride, discontent with life and the lowest of sexual lust.

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