Judith Hughes

This book thinks its way around the distinction between what is art and what is not art – a very difficult question, but one about which most people have their own instinctive feelings, whether or not they have thought about whether they could justify them.
It starts off very well, making some important distinctions between various categories of items of aesthetic worth, and objects of artistic worth (which are often not the same thing), for example beautiful naturally occurring objects, or objects that are only aesthetically interesting in special circumstances, which were not factored in during their creation, and things made deliberately as art. It talks about the relevance of traditions and art history in answering the question, of familiarity with biography of the artist, and of other work in the medium, as well as questions of innovation or copying. Some of the thorny arguments surrounding subjectivity, objectivity, expert opinion, critics, failure, and misconception, are also well addressed.

The difficult question, of where to draw the line on what is art and what is rubbish, is thus approached nearer and nearer as the book progresses, but ultimately not addressed come the end of it. However, along the way we gain clarity on how best to frame this question, what sort of things should be taken into account, and also why it matters not only to artists, and viewers of art, but also to the man on the street.
A though provoking book, but given that it starts off so strongly, and continues that way for quite a while, ultimately disappointing in that it doesn’t have a bolder stab at answering the question come the end. Worth reading for anyone interested in the philosophy or history of art, and aesthetics.… (mais)