Arthur Danto
Encyclopedia
Arthur Coleman Danto is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the...
but serves a new purpose. Art began with an "era of imitation, followed by an era of ideology, followed by our post-historical era in which, with qualification, anything goes... In our narrative, at first only mimesis [imitation] was art, then several things were art but each tried to extinguish its competitors, and then, finally, it became apparent that there were no stylistic or philosophical constraints. There is no special way works of art have to be. And that is the present and, I should say, the final moment in the master narrative. It is the end of the story"
Art criticism
Arthur Danto was an art critic for The Nation from 1984 to 2009, and has also published numerous articles in other journals. In addition, he is an editor of the Journal of PhilosophyJournal of Philosophy
The Journal of Philosophy is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal on philosophy. Its stated purpose is "To publish philosophical articles of current interest and encourage the interchange of ideas, especially the exploration of the borderline between philosophy and other disciplines." The...
and a contributing editor of the Naked Punch Review
Naked Punch Review
Naked Punch Review is a quarterly interdisciplinary review and magazine of philosophy, art, politics and poetry run voluntarily by young figures in those fields...
and Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
. In art criticism
Art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art.Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty...
, he has published several collected essays, including Encounters and Reflections: Art in the Historical Present (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990), which won the National Book Critics Circle
National Book Critics Circle
The National Book Critics Circle is an American tax-exempt organization for active book reviewers. Its flagship is the National Book Critics Circle Award....
Prize for Criticism in 1990; Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992); Playing With the Edge: The Photographic Achievement of Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
(University of California, 1995); and The Madonna of the Future: Essays in a Pluralistic Art World (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000) and Unnatural Wonders: Essays from the Gap Between Art and Life.
In 1996, he received the Frank Jewett Mather
Frank Jewett Mather
Frank Jewett Mather was an American art critic and professor.He was born at Deep River, Conn., and graduated from Williams College in 1889 and from Johns Hopkins in 1892: he studied also at Berlin and at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris...
Award for art criticism from the College Art Association
College Art Association
The College Art Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for practitioners and scholars of art, art history, and art criticism...
.
Books
Danto is the author of numerous books on philosophy and art, including:- Nietzsche as Philosopher (1965)
- What Philosophy Is (1968)
- Analytical Philosophy of Action (1973)
- SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
(Fontana Modern MastersFontana Modern MastersThe Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on the writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists whose ideas were shaping the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana Books, the paperback imprint of...
, 1975) - The Transfiguration of the Commonplace (1981)
- Narration and Knowledge (1985) - Including earlier book Analytical Philosophy of History (1965)
- Mysticism and Morality: Oriental Thought and Moral Philosophy (1987)
- Connections to the World: The Basic Concepts of Philosophy (1997)
- After the End of Art (1997)
- The Abuse of Beauty (2003)
- Red GroomsRed GroomsRed Grooms is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life...
(2004) - Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
(2009)
Selected Essays
- The Artworld (1964)
- The State of the Art (1987)
- Encounters and Reflections: Art in the Historical Present (1990)
- Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective (1992)
- Playing With the Edge: The Photographic Achievement of Robert MapplethorpeRobert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
(1995) - The Wake of Art: Criticism, Philosophy, and the Ends of Taste (1998)
- Hegel's End-of-Art Thesis (1999)
- The Madonna of the Future: Essays in a Pluralistic Art World (2000)
- Philosophizing Art: Selected Essays (2001)
- The Body/Body Problem: Selected Essays (2001)
- The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (2004)
- The Poetry of Meaning and Loss: The Glass Dresses of Karen LaMonte (2005) Karen LaMonteKaren LaMonteKaren LaMonte is an American artist known for her life-size sculptures in ceramic, bronze and cast glass as well as her large scale monotype prints.-Background:...
- Unnatural Wonders: Essays from the Gap Between Art and Life (2007)
Further reading
- Action, Art, History: Engagements with Arthur C. Danto: A collection of essays edited by Daniel Herwitz and Michael KellyMichael Kelly-Politics:*Mike Kelly , Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives*Mike Kelly , Australian lawyer, soldier and politician*Mike Kelly , politician and U.S...
, including contributions by Frank AnkersmitFrank AnkersmitFranklin Rudolf Ankersmit is professor of intellectual history and historical theory at the University of Groningen....
, Hans BeltingHans BeltingHans Belting is a German art historian and theorist of medieval and Renaissance art, as well as contemporary art and image theory.-Background:...
, Stanley CavellStanley CavellStanley Louis Cavell is an American philosopher. He is the Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University.-Life:...
, Donald DavidsonDonald Davidson (philosopher)Donald Herbert Davidson was an American philosopher born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who served as Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at Stanford University, Rockefeller University, Princeton...
, Lydia Goehr, Gregg Horowitz, Philip Kitcher, Daniel Immerwahr, Daniel Herwitz and Michael KellyMichael Kelly-Politics:*Mike Kelly , Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives*Mike Kelly , Australian lawyer, soldier and politician*Mike Kelly , politician and U.S...
and replies by Danto himself. - Danto and his Critics (1993). A collection of essays including contributions by David Carrier, Richard WollheimRichard WollheimRichard Arthur Wollheim was a British philosopher noted for original work on mind and emotions, especially as related to the visual arts, specifically, painting...
, Jerry FodorJerry FodorJerry Alan Fodor is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. He holds the position of State of New Jersey Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and is the author of many works in the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science, in which he has laid the groundwork for the...
, and George DickieGeorge DickieGeorge Dickie is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at University of Illinois at Chicago and is an influential philosopher of art working in the analytical tradition...
. - Danto and His Critics: Art History, Historiography and After the End of Art. An issue of History and Theory Journal where philosophers David Carrier, Frank AnkersmitFrank AnkersmitFranklin Rudolf Ankersmit is professor of intellectual history and historical theory at the University of Groningen....
, Noël CarrollNoël CarrollNoël Carroll is an American philosopher considered to be one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy of art. Although Professor Carroll is best known for his work in the philosophy of film, he works in general on philosophy of art, theory of media, and also philosophy of history...
, Michael KellyMichael Kelly-Politics:*Mike Kelly , Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives*Mike Kelly , Australian lawyer, soldier and politician*Mike Kelly , politician and U.S...
, Brigitte Hilmer, Robert Kudielka, Martin Seeland Jacob Steinbrenner address his work; includes a final reply by the author. - Tiziana Andina, Arthur Danto: Philosopher of Pop, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011
External links
- "Is it art?" - an interview with Alan SaundersAlan SaundersAlan Saunders, CMG, OBE was Inspector-General of Police in Palestine between November 1937 and August 1943.Saunders was educated at Christ’s Hospital...
of ABC Radio National (03/2006) - Biography Arthur C. Danto's Biography on Columbia University Website.
- "Danto on Art" The Partially Examined Life - Episode 16 (podcast)