Now that increasing numbers of people are stuck at home and sheltering in place, I figured I’d do a little series. Every weekday for the duration of this intense period, I’ll post a short definition of some term in/related to aesthetics and philosophy of art. Let’s see how this goes! See them all here.
Author Archives: alexforbirds
AFB’S TERMS OF ART #3: ART
Now that increasing numbers of people are stuck at home and sheltering in place, I figured I’d do a little series. Every weekday for the duration of this intense period, I’ll post a short definition of some term in/related to aesthetics and philosophy of art. Let’s see how this goes! See them all here.
Terms of Art #3:
art
AFB’S TERMS OF ART #2: PHILOSOPHY OF ART
Now that increasing numbers of people are stuck at home and sheltering in place, I figured I’d do a little series. Every weekday for the duration of this intense period, I’ll post a short definition of some term in/related to aesthetics and philosophy of art. Let’s see how this goes! See them all here.
Term of the Day #2:
philosophy of art
AFB’S TERMS OF ART (PANDEMIC SPECIAL!), #1: AESTHETICS
Now that increasing numbers of people are stuck at home and sheltering in place, I figured I’d do a little series. Every weekday for the duration of this intense period, I’ll post a short definition of some term in/related to aesthetics and philosophy of art. Let’s see how this goes! [UPDATE: This was called Word of the Day initially, but it quickly became obvious that ‘word’ was too restrictive and that there were cleverer titles.]
Terms of Art #1:
aesthetics (sometimes esthetics*)
CULTURE WARS AND NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE IN LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS
Adrian L. Jawort, a Northern Cheyenne Two Spirit journalist and writer, has written a piece for the Los Angeles Review of Books in which they reflect on the critical reception of two young adult novels by Native American author Rebecca Roanhorse.
The controversy: Roanhorse is a member of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo tribe, but her novels feature a Diné (Navajo) protagonist, and center on events in Dinétah, the traditional land of the Diné people. The problem came in the form of a 2018 letter, signed by 14 Navajo writers, that accused Roanhorse of appropriating another tribe: “Trail of Lightning is an appropriation of Diné cultural beliefs.” Continue reading
BLACK PANTHER AND CROSSPLAY: WHY COSPLAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THINK
In a post for the Oxford University Press Blog titled “Cosplay is Meaningless”, G.R.F. Ferrari, a professor of Classics at Berkeley, argues that cosplay is just about perfecting the art of dress-up. He writes:
Cosplayers … are not out to intimate something about themselves, or, for that matter, about anything else.
As an occasional cosplayer myself, I have to say that I couldn’t disagree more with what Ferrari says. Cosplay is much more aesthetically, socially, and personally important than he gives it credit for. Continue reading
ART IN SPACE! TOO BAD IT’S NOT VERY GOOD
Let’s talk about the Humanity Star. For those of you who haven’t heard about it, it’s a small satellite that’s been launched into space by New Zealand company Rocket Lab, led by CEO Peter Beck. This satellite is different, though. It’s art. Continue reading
TIN CANS, COKE SPOONS, AND BRILLO BOXES
“TO OPEN MY LEGS IS TO OPEN MY MOUTH”: SEXUALITY AND ART
In September this year, French-Luxembourgian performance artist Deborah De Robertis exposed her vagina in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
A few days ago, she was acquitted of charges of sexual exhibitionism by Paris’s High Court. Why? Because (a) her intent was not sexual in nature, and (b) the “material element of the crime” was missing (= you couldn’t *see* her genitalia because pubic hair obscured it). (Yes, you may giggle now.) Continue reading
WE ALL HAVE OUR REASONS
Comic artist Zach Weinersmith of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal talks about art:
And the aftercomic, for those of you interested in questions about representation and depiction:
And the referenced work, for your viewing pleasure, which has hilariously become Cesena’s profile pic on his Wikipedia page:
According to Wikipedia: “It was widely said that when Cesena complained to the Pope, the pontiff joked that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell and the portrait would have to remain.”
