Discuss some of the ends of art
Discuss some of the ‘ends’ of art with relation to the course.
Long associated with Arthur C. Danto, the ‘end of art’ as an aphorism has been popularised as a key trope within art history discussion. However, with a robust continuation of art the meaning of ‘end’ need not be interpreted in a literal physical sense but as in intersection between a hierarchical gallery structure and the mass consumption of art by the everyday viewer. Danto argues that Art has become an object for study and philosophical analysis no longer satisfying the deepest needs of the spirit and thus, we have outgrown art. However, this ‘end’ of art means the liberation of the artists which has been epitomised in the works of Duchamp, Koon’s and Hirst. With reference to the work of these three artists this essay will discuss the white cube theory, High art lite and relational aesthetics to argue a disconnect between academic and mass appeal of art rather than an ‘end’. As the father of the ready made Marcel Duchamp provides a thematic basis for this hierarchical dissonance as a precursor to the artistic strategies and practices of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koon’s. While Duchamp made everyday objects into art through his ready mades, Hirst used vitrines as a cases of death and deconstruction while Koon’s canonises the profane, transforming quotidian objects into objects of desire. These three artists contests the traditional symbiotic relationship between fine art and beautiful objects, ironising capitalist cultures emotional, financial and social investment in art epitomising Warhol’s phrase, “Art is what you can get away with”. This lack of seriousness exhibited highlights this shift from high to mass art, illuminating an argument that there is no end to art, only works that exist within the zeitgeist.
As the manifestation of the ideologies of modernism, the white cube gallery design facilitates the enduarance of a academic, high art hierarchy. As proposed by O’Doherty the white cube
Long associated with Arthur C. Danto, the ‘end of art’ as an aphorism has been popularised as a key trope within art history discussion. However, with a robust continuation of art the meaning of ‘end’ need not be interpreted in a literal physical sense but as in intersection between a hierarchical gallery structure and the mass consumption of art by the everyday viewer. Danto argues that Art has become an object for study and philosophical analysis no longer satisfying the deepest needs of the spirit and thus, we have outgrown art. However, this ‘end’ of art means the liberation of the artists which has been epitomised in the works of Duchamp, Koon’s and Hirst. With reference to the work of these three artists this essay will discuss the white cube theory, High art lite and relational aesthetics to argue a disconnect between academic and mass appeal of art rather than an ‘end’. As the father of the ready made Marcel Duchamp provides a thematic basis for this hierarchical dissonance as a precursor to the artistic strategies and practices of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koon’s. While Duchamp made everyday objects into art through his ready mades, Hirst used vitrines as a cases of death and deconstruction while Koon’s canonises the profane, transforming quotidian objects into objects of desire. These three artists contests the traditional symbiotic relationship between fine art and beautiful objects, ironising capitalist cultures emotional, financial and social investment in art epitomising Warhol’s phrase, “Art is what you can get away with”. This lack of seriousness exhibited highlights this shift from high to mass art, illuminating an argument that there is no end to art, only works that exist within the zeitgeist.
As the manifestation of the ideologies of modernism, the white cube gallery design facilitates the enduarance of a academic, high art hierarchy. As proposed by O’Doherty the white cube