John Armstrong (1) (1966–)

"This is one of the most ambitions concepts of art...incarnating an abstract idea in a material object, [and] finding a way to make an idea palpable and direct." de Botton and Armstrong present an engaging, and occasionally surprising, treatise on art's role to direct/encourage us all to become better, more self-aware and compassionate people.

Especially enjoyable for me are passages addressing the issue of art and capitalism, and a well-crafted passage defending the notion of censorship.

"We cannot claim both that art will elevate us and that ugliness will leave us unaffected. The rightful celebration of freedom as an organizing principle in democracy has blinded us to an awkward truth: that freedom should, in some contexts, be limited for the sake of our wellbeing."

Accessible writing makes unexpected arguments easy to consider. What kept this at a solid 4 stars is the stunning shortage of representation of art created by women.… (mais)

Armstrong's selection of artworks is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Eurocentric. And, though the author is himself a dealer of primarily 18th- and 19th-century artworks, I would have expected a truly definitive philosophy of art to be heterogeneous in its scope -- to extend much further beyond Armstrong's own particular area of expertise and include the works of more modern masters than Matisse. The philosophy itself is beautifully written and inspiring, until one reaches the author's rehearsal of aesthetic theory.… (mais)