How do people create art to fulfill existentialist philosophies?
Imagination
Another aspect of aestheticism in relation to existentialist philosophy is the idea of Imagination. Imagination is the process of creating new ideas or entities that have not been perceived to the one doing the imagination. An artist’s power to imagine exemplifies the idea of existentialist philosophy due to the fact that it requires one to examine the world around them. In this examination, the artist analyzes the lack of something, to which they respond by creating it in their mind. They create what is not there, but in the process of imagining it, they make it there at the same time, yet as a figment of their own imagination. This duality of imagination can be used to explain the paradox by which humans make art; the desire to create and have the creation exist on the metaphysical realm, but the creation is dependent upon the nonexistence of the thing the artist desires to create already.
For example, a fictional novelist may craft a perfect plot and come up with a story. The problem with this is that the story is in a state of existence and nonexistence at the same time. It may exist to people that have read the story, or to the novelist themselves, but it also fails to exist given the fact that it is a work of fiction. In other words, the story exists in the imagination of the artist and in the words on the pages upon which it was printed, but it does, in no way, exist – it is not perceptible. The words are merely ink and paper, and the artist’s imagination is otherwise incomprehensible.
Materiality
Another relevant question that has been debated since the existence of man is What defines Art? While this is arguably impossible to answer objectively, it relates to another question; If someone takes the materials used to create an artwork and breaks them down (ex. Stone for a sculpture, paint and canvas for a painting, etc.), at what point does this lose its aesthetic value? Because the artist has created the piece in such a specific way, that is subjective to both themselves and the viewer, and crafted certain conceptual elements to unify the work, it is completely unique. In the process of doing so, they have fulfilled the philosophy – nobody can reduce the artwork on the basis of its components. Any bottle of acrylic paint and canvas is made of the same things as a piece of fine art – however, one emulates existentialism, and one does not.
This is not a question of artistic beauty or the arduous process of critique – this just to say that the intent of the artist to create something out of raw material is so – an intention. The intention behind any one piece is the very thing that defines aesthetic existentialism.
In other words, if someone were to unknowingly spill some paint on a canvas and perhaps create some world-renowned painting, they have not fulfilled any philosophy. They may be considered the greatest artist, but they did not create for the sake of creation. The perpetrator did not actively attempt to find meaning or purpose in the art-making process.
Intent
An artist’s intent is imperative in the process of fulfilling existentialist philosophies. There are two main schools of thought regarding intent; Conscious and Subconscious. The artist can either actively search for meaning and come across art as a way to do so, or they may just so happen to improve their outlook on life as they create the art. This is not to say that once someone is doing something subconsciously they cannot make it conscious – the artist may realize that their actions are, by definition, existentialist, and the process becomes conscious. However, so long as the very first piece of art made is done with the subconscious intent to find meaning, the process can be considered subconscious (until the artist realizes the meaning behind their actions).
Conscious Intent
If the artist in question acknowledges the fact that they are creating the art in an act to find meaning or to alter their existence and the course of their life, the art-making process is thereby made existentialist. The philosophy by which they create the art is kept in mind the entire time; the artist uses art itself in order to find meaning in one’s life. They recognize that they have free will and that they are able to do things by choice and that they have action with regard to the development of themselves (whether it be character or any other aspect of a person). The art that is thus created directly involves the existentialist school of thought because the artist intended to create it in that way.
This is completely independent of the art itself, however. The art created and the quality of it is irrelevant. Someone could be the worst sculptor in the world, but if they sculpted with the intent to find meaning or to do something in good faith, they would be consciously fulfilling the basic principles of existentialism.
Subconscious Intent
Another basis of the art-making process with regard to existentialist philosophy is the subconscious mind. Someone may constantly search for meaning in their life without even knowing it or allowing themselves to realize and acknowledge it. If someone was unhappy with their life or if they felt as if they lacked fulfillment, it would be natural for that person to search for meaning. However, the person doing the searching may not realize that they are, in fact, looking for a change.
Regardless, the person in question may still attempt to make said changes. Thus, they may try new things, move to a different place, find new relationships, or create art. Many people do find meaning in their life (or at least become happier) by doing so. While some of them may not realize that the art-making process is helping them in such a way, they still fulfill existentialism.
Authenticity
Bad Faith, a term coined by French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, is a concept by which one lies to themselves with regard to their positions and circumstances in life. Someone that is unhappy with their life, lacks a feeling of fulfillment, or believes that they lack meaning, realizes their situation. Bad Faith (known as Mauvaise Foi to Sartre, in his book Being and Nothingness) is a situation that Sartre claims is common in modern society. This is the instance in which one lies to themselves about their unhappiness in order to give themselves short-term happiness. In other words, if someone woke up one day and found that their job as a teacher was unfulfilling and made them unhappy, they would be faced with a dilemma. Bad Faith comes into play because many people lie to themselves with regard to such unhappiness. They tell themselves that they were destined to be a teacher (or whatever issue they have with their life), and that it is their fate. They argue that they have no choice but to be in the position that they are in. This, by definition, is an act of Bad Faith, and the person begins living inauthentically. This train of thought is the complete inverse of existentialist philosophies, which claim that it is the duty of man to actively search for meaning in his life.
Free Will
Artistic endeavors are one of the most popular and most common ways to exemplify the notion of free will and human freedom. It is difficult to come up with a list of any other activities that match the art-making process. Artists have abundant freedom when it comes to the things they create because they are not necessarily bound by the laws of nature. For example, a fictional novelist can write about things that are impossible in the real world, but the possibility of the things is irrelevant – is is fiction. In this way, subject matter is one of the most important things to consider for an existentialist artist. It is much more simple to create representational art in order to elucidate existential philosophy – art that truly fulfills such philosophy will make an attempt to comment on the true nature of the world. While the mere creation of art itself may exemplify existentialism by nature, the creation of art that provides commentary on human nature or deep philosophical thinking achieves a higher level of the philosophy itself. What this means is that the very act of making art is a basic existentialist action, but the act of making art that has philosophical references or has commentary about the world or the human condition supersedes the basics of existentialism itself. The freedom of the artist to create also comes with one caveat – the suggestion to create for the sake of meaning; the suggestion for the art to have impact rather than just aesthetic value.
Subject Matter and Medium
The favor for representational art is one that is based on the attempt to achieve the higher level of existentialist thinking – it is much more difficult to make commentary about humans themselves when the subject matter is abstract. Another thing to consider when deciding on subject matter is the thing that the meaning one hopes to create will be based on. Art based on philosophical thinking prefers to have moral, ethical, or political issues behind it. This already is a very common theme in art, as those topics are ones that evoke the most emotion. While a large portion of art may only be for aesthetic value, the art that seeks catharsis is also a large portion.
This is especially true for fine art and theatre. Catharsis (coined by Aristotle in the Poetics) seeks to evoke strong emotion in the viewer through the art itself. These emotions were commonly negative (such as fear or sadness when the hero of an ancient Greek tragedy died), making the viewer’s experience more vivid. While comedies could also provide catharsis, the aspect of negative emotion was favored. This related back to the idea of commentary on the human condition – many pieces of art (both modern and antiquated) reflect on the negative; these include subjects such as moral issues (ranging from global warming to ethical dilemmas), the entropy of man, and politics. In the act of creating works to comment on philosophy, the artist may also promote catharsis in one form or another. Cathartic art is most common in the theatre, where it originated. Not only does the theatre promote catharsis and the evocation of emotion in general, it also allows for strong existentialist backings. While all of these are theoretically possible in other art-making forms, the theatre is one of the more involved media. The audience becomes involved with the characters and their experiences more easily, and follows them throughout the course of the plot. Furthermore, theatrics are generally longer, allowing them to be more in depth. While someone may only look at a painting for minutes, plays can last hours. One may then argue that long novels can take much longer to read than plays last. While this is true, novels are limited in that they are merely text on a page. While strong authors can use imagery to help this, they are very two-dimensional in this way. On the other hand, the theatre is visual as well as auditory, allowing for a greater depth to be reached between the actors and the audience.
This is why many, if not all, of existentialist thinkers considered theatre to be the best medium to create existentialist art. This leads into the dilemma of media.
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