COLLOQUY

THE QUESTION

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BACKGROUND

Her collection, "The Romantic Manifesto" deserves study in both the philoosphy class and the art class/studio. Begin with Rand's definition of art: A Selective Recreation of Reality According to the Artist's Metaphysical Values.

Whenever I approach a new work of art, I try to apply this definition. I makes a lot of sense when trying to distinguish "good" art from the "bad". Two essays: "Art & Cognition" and "The Psychoepistomology of Art" lay the groundwork for her esthetic views. Also recommended in this topic is the book What Art Is by Louis Torres and Michelle Kamhi. Here, the philosophy of art and Rand's esthetics are expanded and applied to what we have seen in today's post-modern art environment. It all comes down to values. The artist with the right values, and the right amount of talent, should be able to produce a wonderful and important work of art. One cannot simply take something and just call it a work of art. This goes for poetry and novels and music as well. When Rand's definition of art is applied, one realizes that splattered paint on canvas, or random noise, or ranting before a microphone, or writing plotless, present tense stories, are just NOT ART.

-- Frank M. Giallombardo, English and E.S.L. Teacher (posted 6/17, 9:40 a.m., U.S. Eastern time)

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