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The Abuse of Beauty: Aesthetics and the Concept of Art
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The Abuse of Beauty: Aesthetics and the Concept of Art Paperback - 2003

by Arthur C. Danto


From the publisher

Danto simply and entertainingly traces the evolution of the concept of beauty over the past century and explores how it was removed from the definition of art. Beauty then came to be regarded as a serious aesthetic crime, whereas a hundred years ago it was almost unanimously considered the supreme purpose of art. Beauty is not, and should not be, the be-all and end-all of art, but it has an important place, and is not something to be avoided.
Danto draws eruditely upon the thoughts of artists and critics such as Rimbaud, Fry, Matisse, the Dadaists, Duchamp, and Greenberg, as well as on that of philosophers like Hume, Kant, and Hegel. Danto agrees with the dethroning of beauty as the essence of art, and maintains with telling examples that most art is not, in fact, beautiful. He argues, however, for the partial rehabilitation of beauty and the removal of any critical taboo against beauty. Beauty is one among the many modes through which thoughts are presented to human sensibility in art: disgust, horror, sublimity, and sexuality being among other such modes.

First line

It is the mark of the present period in the history of art that the concept of art implies no internal constraint on what works of art are, so that one no longer can tell if something is a work of art or not.

Details

  • Title The Abuse of Beauty: Aesthetics and the Concept of Art
  • Author Arthur C. Danto
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 1st
  • Pages 224
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Open Court, Chicago
  • Date February 2003
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780812695403 / 0812695402
  • Weight 0.7 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 0.5 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 1.27 cm)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2003005374
  • Dewey Decimal Code 111.85

Media reviews

Citations

  • Library Journal, 08/01/2003, Page 76
  • Publishers Weekly, 05/26/2003, Page 63

About the author

Arthur C. Danto is Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Columbia University. He is the art critic for The Nation and author of more than 20 books.
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