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Representation Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy. co. uk © Michael Lacewing

Constable, The Hay Wain (1821)

Some basics • We often praise a work for its likeness to life. • Paintings represent objects so we can see the object in the painting. • If we can’t, the painting often loses its point, e. g. portraits, or fails as a painting.

Heda, Still Life with a Lobster (1650 -9)

Further points • Artists and actors spend years developing techniques for realism. • Resemblance to life also explains why some subjects are ‘off-limits’ for art, e. g. the Holocaust.

How does art represent reality? • Plato: what is fully Real are the Forms; physical objects are copies of the Forms; art copies or imitates physical objects • Obj: art is not an imitation, nor do pictures try to get us to confuse art with reality

Pere Borrell del Caso, Escaping Criticism (1874)

Copying • Nor does art literally copy reality, e. g. when there is no reality to copy, but the artist makes it up as they go • And the value of art is not judged by how exact a copy it is

Vernet, A Landscape at Sunset (1773)

Turner, The Scarlet Sunset (1830 -40)

Copying (cont. ) • If art was copying, wouldn’t photographs be better than paintings? • A good forgery is a good copy, but not good art. • What about dance, music, literature? Nothing is being copied…

Representation • So if art does represent reality, this cannot be understood as imitation or copying. • We could still argue that good art represents ‘authentically’

Picasso, The Three Dancers (1925)

Appel Untitled (1960)

Newman, New Adam (1951 -2)

Representation (cont. ) • If nothing is represented, then nothing is represented ‘authentically’ • Not only painting, but music • Is an emotion represented? – Not represented, but perhaps expressed

The value of art • Do we value art because it informs us? • Plato: art is not valuable, because we learn more from reality • A forgery informs us as much as the original • We may value art as a representation – But the value here is not information, but imagination and skill • Our response to art is not so intellectual