Notes on Tolstoy, On Art (1895-97) A

(Originally Written Feb. 22, 2008 in the Journal).

Part VI On Art (1895-97)

Two major things to do when considering a theory of art:

1. Separate art from non-art
2. Separate what is good and important from what is insignificant and harmful.

One school of thought says in order for art to be arty it must have for its subject something "important, necessary to man, good, moral and instructive" (Maude, 48).

In this theory, religious, social, moral and political truths are veiled in a seemingly artistic clothing are called art.

The aesthetic or "art for art's sake" theory states that art exists when its form is something beautiful.

The aesthetic theory claims an artist must be skilled technically and create something pleasant or beautiful.

The realistic theory of art states that something must be a truthful, exact presentation of reality.

In the realistic theory, an artist is bound to only recreate what he/she perceives.

Each of these three theories fails to divide art from commercial, insignificant, or harmful productions and thus fails as a theory of art.

The problem with the first two theories is that any person with some skill can churn out a piece of ready-made work, but that work can be insignificant or harmful.

If the third theory were true, all would be artists who reproduced anything that interested them.

Each of these theories fails because art can be produced incessantly in every craft of life. These theories are too broad.

Art must be distinguished from teaching and learning. To create art it must be created anew, not learned and repeated.

"Artistic creation is such mental activity as brings dimly perceived feelings (or thoughts) to such a degree of clearness that these feelings (or thoughts) are transmitted to other people" (Maude, 51).

Process of creation:
1. Man dimly perceives something new to him which he has not heard from anyone else.
2. Man tells this to others and is surprised to find they have not also perceived this.
3. Man is perplexed and tries to communicate his perception in various ways to others.
4. Man doubts his perception.
5. Man devotes all his energy to explaining his perception so as to eliminate the doubt.

"A work of art is then finished when it has been brought to such clearness that it communicates itself to others and evokes in them the same feeling that the artist experienced when creating it (Maude, 53).