RHETOR 20 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Against Interpretation, Philistinism, Classical Antiquity
Document Summary
Earliest theory of art, proposed that art is imitation of reality. Proposed by plato who thought art was useless. Art value in the form of therapy and medicine. For both him and plato they assume that art is always figurative. Favor theory of art as subjective expression (not representation of an outer reality) Interpretation in art: plucking a set of elements from the whole work. Late classical antiquity: power of myth broken by realistic view of world introduced by the enlightenment. Interp as radical strategy for conserving an old text by revamping it. Today: interp prompted by an open aggressiveness and contempt for appearances - we dig behind the text to find the true subtext. Done by marx and freud: set aside manifest content to find the latent content. They treat all events and texts to be occasion for interpretation. Today: interp is the revenge of the intellect upon art and upon the world.
