plato never stood a chance
by alex rea
Aristotle is one of the most famous philosophers ever, alongside Plato and Socrates of course. All three had their own view and opinion on art and what its place was in the world, or frankly if it even had a place. Compared to Plato and Socrates, Aristotle had a very contradicting opinion on the importance of art. He very much appreciated art and how it could be used to show how humans felt and behaved. His favorite art form was tragedies. Which were much more complex and “authentic” as opposed to their counterpart, popular comedies.
A great example of a piece of art Aristotle probably would like and appreciate is the painting “Separation” by Edvard Munch. Not only does the painting depict tragedy, but the artist himself embodies tragedy. Edvard Munch was surrounded by immense sadness while growing up. It seemed that he couldn’t escape the bleak reality of family members all around him having life-threatening illnesses. Some including the premature deaths of his mother and sister. Followed by his brother later dying, his other sister spending most of her life in a mental institution, and finally his father's death. When the 1900s rolled around his drinking began to spin out of control. Then in 1908, he started to hear voices followed by the suffering due to paralysis on one side. As a result he collapsed and soon checked himself into a private sanitarium, where he learned to drink less and thankfully regained some of his mental composure. In 1909, he checked out, unfortunately most of his great works were behind him.These horrible series of events left a lifelong impression on the artist, and helped to influence many of his paintings, with themes of anxiety, emotional suffering, and human vulnerability.
Munch’s ”Separation” is a painting that depicts a very somber scene. On one side there is a rather chipper looking woman dressed in white and in complete opposition the other side shows a sad man painted in dark and dank looking colors. Not only do the people seem to be experiencing two opposite emotions, but they are also facing away from each other, in some ways looking like they are intentionally avoiding one another. Art can be interpreted in very different ways, and frankly I don’t fully know what compelled Munch to paint this but what I gather as the so called “true tragedy” of this piece is that two people so close together can have such different inner emotions and in seeming to show no regard to each other.
Aristotle would very much approve and like Munch’s painting. Not only would he have appreciated it solely based on the fact that it is an amazing piece of art, but also because of the tragedy of truth it tells, and that it had a purpose to it and wasn’t just a simple piece of art; something he strongly believed in. “the poet must be more the poet of his stories or plots rather than of his verses” (Aristotle, Poetics 702).
A great example of a piece of art Aristotle probably would like and appreciate is the painting “Separation” by Edvard Munch. Not only does the painting depict tragedy, but the artist himself embodies tragedy. Edvard Munch was surrounded by immense sadness while growing up. It seemed that he couldn’t escape the bleak reality of family members all around him having life-threatening illnesses. Some including the premature deaths of his mother and sister. Followed by his brother later dying, his other sister spending most of her life in a mental institution, and finally his father's death. When the 1900s rolled around his drinking began to spin out of control. Then in 1908, he started to hear voices followed by the suffering due to paralysis on one side. As a result he collapsed and soon checked himself into a private sanitarium, where he learned to drink less and thankfully regained some of his mental composure. In 1909, he checked out, unfortunately most of his great works were behind him.These horrible series of events left a lifelong impression on the artist, and helped to influence many of his paintings, with themes of anxiety, emotional suffering, and human vulnerability.
Munch’s ”Separation” is a painting that depicts a very somber scene. On one side there is a rather chipper looking woman dressed in white and in complete opposition the other side shows a sad man painted in dark and dank looking colors. Not only do the people seem to be experiencing two opposite emotions, but they are also facing away from each other, in some ways looking like they are intentionally avoiding one another. Art can be interpreted in very different ways, and frankly I don’t fully know what compelled Munch to paint this but what I gather as the so called “true tragedy” of this piece is that two people so close together can have such different inner emotions and in seeming to show no regard to each other.
Aristotle would very much approve and like Munch’s painting. Not only would he have appreciated it solely based on the fact that it is an amazing piece of art, but also because of the tragedy of truth it tells, and that it had a purpose to it and wasn’t just a simple piece of art; something he strongly believed in. “the poet must be more the poet of his stories or plots rather than of his verses” (Aristotle, Poetics 702).