Notes on Mimesis, Philosophers, and Abstract Expressionism

Mimesis and Faithful Representation

• What mimesis means in the transcript: to imitate or imitate appearance, or to copy. Different nuances are discussed:
  • A mime imitates actions without speaking; often depicted as being inside a box, acting out things. This leads to the broader question: what does mimicry mean in art?
  • Parody or overemphasis vs. faithful copying: imitating a public figure (e.g., a president from New York) can be done by exaggerating traits, not by becoming a clone. The term mimesis is contrasted with overemphasis or parody.
• Distinction between faithful representation and mere mimicry:
  • Mimesis in its strict sense means faithful representation, a faithful copy of appearance or essence.
  • Parody or miming (mimetic actions) often exaggerates or references a real person without faithfully duplicating them.
• Historical origin of Western art’s emphasis on appearance:
  • The transcript argues that Western art prioritizes appearance and faithful representation, i.e., showing how things look in perception.
  • This emphasis is traced to early Greek art, circa 400-600\ \,\mathrm{BCE}, where a competition between two Greek artists centered on representing appearance convincingly.

Early Greek Art and the Motive to Imitate Appearance

• The two competing Greek artists: Parathios and Zixus (names as given in the transcript).
  • They engaged in a contest to depict appearance with high fidelity.
  • One anecdote: a painting of a grapevine so convincingly rendered that a bird perched on the painting to peck at what looked like real grapes, illustrating the power (and risk) of faithful representation.
• The curtain/curtain-drapery example:
  • Parathios asks Zixus to uncover a painting that appears to be covered with a drape; the painting convincingly depicts a curtain, so much so that observers are fooled into seeing a real curtain where there is none.
  • This demonstrates the degree to which art can imitate appearance to the point of fooling the viewer.
• The broader point:
  • The tendency to imitate appearances and to faithfully represent what is perceived has been a long-standing and central concern in art for thousands of years.
  • It requires extraordinary skill, time, effort, dedication, and patience to create such convincing representations.
• Philosophers are introduced as observers who question the meaning of art, life, nature, and other big topics. They look at questions arising from human pursuits, including art and representation.

The Philosophers’ Dueling Views on Art

• Plato’s critique of art:
  • Plato views the imitation of appearances as dangerous to society; he worries about deception and social harm if people are easily fooled by convincingly depicted appearances.
  • He believes beauty lies in the natural order of things, and any copy or imitation diminishes the value of the original (e.g., a flower’s fragrance or other essential qualities may be lost in a painting).
  • His fear: art could lead to deception, undermine the natural order, and erode trust in what is real.
• Aristotle’s counterpoint:
  • Aristotle argues that art is valuable and good; whether an artist copies or not is an honest, worthwhile craft because it engages minds and offers new perspectives.
  • Art opens doors and windows to others’ thoughts and feelings, enabling people to experience things they might not otherwise encounter.
  • Despite their disagreements, Aristotle’s view helps defend art as a beneficial human activity, even if it imitates appearance.
• The debate reflects broader questions about art’s purpose: imitation, expression, or exploration of human experience.

Classical Examples of Mimesis in Sculpture and Vase Painting

• The Trojan War myth and the role of the artist’s fidelity:
  • The transcript mentions Coan Wakawan (spelling in the transcript may be uncertain) and his sons, Laocoön and his sons, and the broader story of ships and serpents sent by Poseidon (Neptune in the transcript) to attack the Greeks’ enemies.
  • The serpent wrapping around Laocoön and his sons is described as a detail that, when depicted faithfully, communicates the dramatic moment and the horror of the event.
  • The point: the artist’s challenge is to render such precise, lifelike details so that viewers recognize and feel the scene.
• Panathenaic and athletic awards as exemplars of faithful depiction:
  • A vase/dase (pan-ethnic/panathenaic context) showing Nike (the goddess of victory) lifting her arm, celebrating an athlete’s success.
  • The backside of the vase often features Athena, with meticulous attention to folds, feathers, muscles, and drapery—demonstrating the artist’s commitment to precise representation of form and detail.
• Classical sculpture of philosophers and public figures:
  • The trained, precise rendering of facial features, eyes, noses, lips, beards, and overall proportion in busts of Aristotle and Socrates.
  • These works illustrate an ideal of accurate depiction and attention to detail across subjects.
• The broader significance:
  • The transcript emphasizes that the drive to imitate appearances with accuracy has occupied artists for millennia and remains a defining feature of Western art at many times.
  • Even earlier civilizations (pre-Greek and Egyptian) engaged in similar efforts to copy appearance with fidelity.

The Rise of Abstract Expressionism: Rejection of Pure Imitation

• A turning point around 1948–1950s:
  • A movement in art emerged that questioned the value of imitating appearances as the primary goal of art.
  • Jackson Pollock is highlighted as a leading figure in this rebellion, identified as an abstract expressionist or action painter.
• Pollock’s technique and philosophy:
  • Pollock’s painting from 1950: he uses a method where he does not rely on a traditional brush to paint onto the canvas; instead, he moves and throws paint with gestures, using the brush as a wand to fling paint from can to canvas.
  • He records the sequence of his movements as part of the artwork, balancing gesture, action, and emotion.
  • The result is a composition marked by a vertical stack of colors and gestural lines that expresses inner states rather than a direct imitation of appearance.
• Other abstract expressionists and their approaches:
  • Another abstract expressionist used a large brush to push and pull paint across wide canvases, creating bold gestural marks.
  • Franz (likely Franz Kline) is described as using large, sweeping brush strokes that create dynamic, gestural energy across the canvas.
  • The artist’s body becomes an instrument in the painting process, with the size of the canvas and the width of the brush shaping the work’s physicality.
• Additional examples within abstract expressionism:
  • William (likely William de Kooning) produced thick, gooey globs of paint with visible brushwork directions and traces of movement.
  • Clifford Still and Mark Rothko (mentioned as a philosophical figure in this movement) contributed to the movement with different emphases: Still on tension and form, Rothko on color blocks and mood.
• Barnett Newman and other minimalists:
  • Newman’s work emphasizes minimalism, with large fields of color and a focus on essential elements; he is described as paring art down to its most basic elements, e.g., a strong central line created by masking tape, revealing a sharp boundary after painting.
  • The text notes the power of the artist’s physical action—the arm, the reach, the push, the pull—and how these gestures imprint meaning on the canvas.
• Theoretical question posed to students:
  • Which theory best legitimizes what these abstract artists are doing? Is it about communication, expression, or something else?
  • The instructor asks students to consider theories that would provide intellectual solidity for these works.

The Theories of Art and Their Implications

• Tolstoy’s theory of art as communication:
  • Tolstoy defines art as a human activity consisting in one person consciously communicating feelings to others through external signs, so others experience those feelings.
  • External signs include lines, shapes, colors, and other perceptible elements that convey a felt emotion.
  • The theory emphasizes the emotional transmission from artist to viewer.
• Other formalist and aesthetic theories discussed:
  • One theory suggests that art can be understood through lines, shapes, colors, and directions without requiring depiction of real objects; it emphasizes the significance of color, line, texture, and composition independent of representational content.
  • The transcript mentions Clyde Bell (likely a scholar) who argues that art does not have to look like anything specific; it can be abstract and still meaningful.
• The “art world” theory:
  • This theory posits that what counts as art is determined by the social context and institutions of the art world, including critics, curators, galleries, and peer communities.
  • The speaker notes irritation with the idea of the art world as an authoritative gatekeeper and questions whether it imposes arbitrary standards.
  • The theory raises concerns about democratic participation in defining art and whether legitimacy is conferred by a community rather than by intrinsic qualities of the work.
• The tension among theories and the viewer’s role:
  • The speaker argues that none of the theories fully addresses the viewer’s experience; most focus on the artist’s intentions, processes, or social systems rather than the viewer’s interpretation.
  • Tolstoy’s theory foregrounds audience experience, but the art world theory and others may not center the viewer in a direct, accessible way.
• The question of membership in the art world:
  • The transcript ends with a discussion on how a viewer or artist might become a “member” of the art world, and whether this membership is democratic or hierarchical.
  • The question implies that access to legitimacy may require familiarity with certain networks rather than universal criteria.

Connections, Implications, and Real-World Relevance

• The long history of mimesis shows a persistent tension between faithful representation and expression/innovation:
  • Faithful representation fosters shared perception and cultural literacy but can limit artistic experimentation.
  • Innovation in 20th-century art (e.g., abstract expressionism) sought to liberate art from mere imitation and to foreground process, emotion, and individual vision.
• Ethical and philosophical implications:
  • Plato’s critique raises concerns about deception and the potential social impact of art that convincingly imitates reality.
  • Aristotle’s defense emphasizes art’s potential to broaden understanding and empathy.
  • Tolstoy’s view foregrounds the communicative and moral dimensions of art; art as a vehicle for shared human experience.
• Practical implications for artists and viewers:
  • The debate informs how artists think about purpose: mimicry vs. self-expression vs. social commentary.
  • Viewers are invited to consider what they value in art: technical prowess, emotional resonance, conceptual depth, or social context.
• Real-world relevance:
  • The shift from imitation to abstraction mirrors broader cultural shifts in the postwar period and ongoing conversations about the meaning and value of art in society.

Summary Takeaways

• Mimesis involves imitation and faithful representation of appearances, with important historical emphasis in Western art on depicting how things look.
• Early Greek art framed mimesis as a desired capability, with demonstrations of illusionistic depiction (e.g., grapevines, drapery) that could fool observers.
• Philosophers debated art’s purpose: Plato warned of danger in imitation; Aristotle argued for art’s beneficial value in expanding thought and empathy.
• Classical artifacts (vases, busts, sculptures) show the height of attention to appearance and detail in ancient art.
• The postwar shift to abstract expressionism reframed art away from replicating appearances toward personal gesture, process, and emotion (Pollock, Kline, Rothko, Newman, de Kooning, etc.).
• Theoretical frameworks for understanding art include Tolstoy’s communication theory, formalist ideas about signs and composition, and art-world theory, each with strengths and limitations.
• A central question remains: what counts as art, and who gets to decide? The viewer’s role is often underemphasized in many theories, prompting ongoing discussion about accessibility, authority, and inclusion in the definition of art.

Key Terms and Names (for quick review)

• Mimesis: imitation or representation of appearance, often aiming at faithful copy.
• Mimetic vs. parody: faithful imitation vs. exaggerated, referential imitation.
• Plato: art as dangerous imitation; beauty in natural order; copying diminishes value.
• Aristotle: art as valuable for engaging minds and broadening empathy; imitation can be beneficial.
• Pollock: Abstract Expressionism; action painting; emphasis on process and gesture; breaking from faithful mimicry.
• Jackson Pollock (1950 painting): paint thrown or dripped, documenting the artist’s movement.
• Franz Kline: large, gestural, sweeping brushwork on big canvases.
• Mark Rothko: color field paintings; emphasis on mood and meaning of color blocks.
• Barnett Newman: minimalist abstraction; crisp lines and large color fields; use of masking tape to create defined edges.
• Tolstoy: art as communication of feelings through external signs.
• Clyde Bell: formalist idea that line, shape, color, and texture can carry meaning apart from depicting objects.
• Art world theory: legitimacy of art defined by social and institutional networks.
• Panathenaic games/Nike and Athena imagery: examples of how Greek art sought to faithfully depict revered figures.
• Poseidon/Neptune and Laocoön story: illustrates the power and danger of mythic representation in sculpture.
• Laocoön and his sons: dramatic sculpture emphasizing precise depiction of emotion and physical form.
• Grape-vine painting, bird pecking, curtain illusion: illustrate illusionistic techniques and viewers’ perception.
• The Trojan War narrative and related sculptures: exemplify the role of accurate depiction in storytelling through art.
• The timeline: circa 400-600\ \,\mathrm{BCE} (early Greek art); 1948–1950s (abstract expressionism emergence); 1950 (Pollock painting).