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Nural Mohammed December 18, 2013 Final Term Paper - Aesthetics Performing Arts as an Art Performing arts is to the

art world as golf is to sports. While performing arts is unarguably deserving of its placement under the category of arts and is certainly a necessary component it is far different than many forms of visual art. This begs these questions - what exactly is performing arts and what makes it an art? What makes up a performing artist and who can be granted the ability to critique performing arts? Through comparative approaches of various aesthetic philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, Edmund Burke, and David Hume, a more thorough and thoughtful examination of the answer to the questions above can be found and more deeply explored. Performing arts are various forms of art that are made with the intent of having an audience and most commonly involve the artists use of their bodies or voices to present their art whether it be music, dance, or drama. If this is the definition that is to be agreed upon then it can be argued that performing arts, in most cases, is a form of expressivism. This means what matters most is the emotion behind the art; both the feeling of the artist and the emotional impact of a work on its audience. As stated by Gordon Graham in Philosophy of the Arts: an Introduction of Aesthetics, if pleasure is a commonplace explanation of the value of art, expression of emotion is the commonplace view of its nature.1 This is very similar to philosopher Leo Tolstoys idea that artists are people inspired by an experience of deep emotion, who use their skill to embody

Gordon Graham, Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2005), 31.

that emotion in a work of art.1 With other forms of art - such as visual arts - it can be argued that the artist creates a work of art without the intention of presenting an audience with a given emotion. In fact in some cases, visual artists do not even create their work with an audience in mind. However, in the case of most performing arts (i.e, dance and drama) the audience is one of the key components in the making of the art and could even be considered a part of the art. More specifically, in dance and drama, the artist most often conveys an emotion or story through their art which (especially in the case of drama) involves the use of ones entire body in order to convince the audience of the emotion that said artist is trying to get across. While many musicians are also following the same formula, with the same ultimate goal, there are also musicians who perform for themselves; making this one of the key distinctions between music and other forms of performing arts. For example, Johann Sebastian Bach, a famous composer who reigns amongst the likes of Beethoven and Mozart created many symphonies that he never published.2 It was not until after his death that the were revealed to the public gaining him the notoriety he now has. In the case of drama many artists use what is called Substitution Acting when putting on a performance. Uta Hagen, author of Respect for acting describes substitution acting as the act of taking an experience in your performance and substituting it (internally) with a moment or emotion that you have experienced before.3 As a result the artist is experiencing a true emotion that they have felt in the past and is using it to convey that emotion through another medium to
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Gordon Graham, Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2005), 31 34. Carol. The Well Tempered Clavier. Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Retrieved 10 December 2013.

2 Traupman-Carr, 3

Uta Hagen, Respect for Acting (New York: Macmillan, 1973), 24 - 27.

their audience. As Hagen explains it, your substitutions are complete only once they have become synonymous to your part in the play.1 This is a prime example of expressivism being used within the performance arts world and occurs most of the time. That being said, it is important to also note that some performing artists have not experienced emotion that is similar to what the character they are playing has experienced, and as a result must use their imagination and empathy to be able to place themselves in an emotional state that is similar to that of their character. Regardless of whether or not the artist uses substitutional art or their imagination to achieve this, what ultimately matters is what the audience is gaining out of this experience. When it comes to performing arts the ability to transfer the emotion of the characters to the audience is imperative to achieving a successful performance. The basis upon which a piece of performative art is considered successful or not is largely based upon whether or not the audience walked away feeling what the playwright, actors, and directors intended for the audience. This is not something that is necessary when examining other types of art - such as visual art. One can examine or view a painting and feel something completely different than what the artist intended but could still feel fulfilled and see the beauty or importance of the painting even if their emotions did not match that of the artist themselves. The idea of performing arts content being based on emotion is also similar to Robin Collingwoods theory that art is to leave us with an account of art as a distinctive way of understanding human experiences.2 Collingwood believes that to express an emotion is not the same thing as describing it - he believes that when you use an adjective to explain yourself then
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Uta Hagen, Respect for Acting (New York: Macmillan, 1973), 25. Robin Collingwood, Principles of Art (Oxford: University Press, 1938), 109 - 117.

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you are not expressing yourself, but rather stating a fact. Instead, Collingwood is a firm believer that one must show their emotions through their work. Collingwood also states that in order to be able to express yourself you must be fully conscious of what it is that you are expressing.1 Again, these guidelines very clearly fall under an artists role when performing their given performance art. Whether it be music, drama, or dance an artist is clear on the emotion that they are supposed to be conveying through their art because it is much more thought out and specific than if a visual artist were to be painting or drawing or creating something off of the basis of what they felt was right within the moment. With performance arts - especially in the case of drama and music there is not much room for this, as most of it is strictly choreographed and the artist knows going into their performance exactly what type of emotion they intend to express and how they intend to express it. With drama the playwright, director, and producer all provide the artist with a set of guidelines on how to play their character. As David Boersema states in The Philosophy of Art, this does not mean that the actor is always acting as a servant of the playwright or director, as the actor does have some give and take when it comes to how they specifically want to say a certain line or what emotions and thought they use in order to further their characters role.2 It does however, provide a stark difference between performing arts (particularly drama) and other forms of art, in that the artist does not have full freedom in their role and does have certain given rules that they must abide by. That is not the case when it comes to visual and literary arts.

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Robin Collingwood, Principles of Art (Oxford: University Press, 1938), 109 - 117. David Boersema, Philosophy of Art: Aesthetic Theory and Practice (Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2013), 237-239.

With drama the writer creates their own piece (the play) which is a form of literary arts. Once the playwright has completed their work of art the producer of the play takes the playwrights story and determines how he or she wants the performance to look like, all the while remaining within the constraints of the playwrights work. The director then takes on the play and must remained under the constraints and desires of both the playwright and the producer. From there the actor approaches the play where there are already three sets of people (the playwright, the producer, and the director) who have dictated what the play is going to look like. This gives the actor some freedom when it comes to determining what techniques they want to use on stage or how they want to portray their given character - ultimately, however, they must ensure that they remain within the boundaries set for them by the playwright, producer, and director. Take the play Waiting for Godot, a play created in 1953, for example. The playwright, Samuel Beckett, was adamant that only male actors could play any of the roles in the play. This is a constraint that has remained till this day.1 Although many directors have wanted to cast females characters as one of more of the roles in Waiting for Godot, they have little freedom or ability to do so because of the playwrights wishes. In the case of visual or literary arts, unless the work is commissioned (and sometimes even then), the artist does not have these types of constraints or limitations placed upon them and are allowed more individualized freedom when it comes to creating their art. When an artist is using past emotions in order to create new or similar ones they are relying heavily on their past experiences to accomplish this. Dewey also states that in order to an-

Shmoop Editorial Team, "Waiting for Godot Life, Consciousness, and Existence Quotes Page 1," Shmoop University, Inc., 11 November 2008, http://www.shmoop.com/waiting-for-godot/life-consciousnessexistence-quotes.html (accessed December 10, 2013).

swer questions regarding theory of art one must be willing to find the germs and roots in matters of experience that we do no currently regard as esthetic.1 That is to state that one cannot simply look at a piece and try to understand what this means or what the theory behind this artistic piece is. Rather, one must analyze everything that built up to this piece. All of the intricate details, origins, and history of the piece are what make up the piece itself. This is particularly important in cases of performing arts where instruments, the set, costumes and many other seemingly small details are what make up the work of art and are ultimately very important in making said work of piece successful. Revisiting some of Tolstoys ideas of art, one can find many common themes and guidelines that fit the structure of performing arts. For example, Tolstoy believes that the activity of art is based on the fact that a man is capable of expressing a certain emotion causing another man (or audience member) to experience the same emotion.2 That is to say that Tolstoy believes that when one is creating a successful form of art they are able to transfer the emotions that they are attempting to convey onto another (or several other) human being. There is much discrepancy of whether or not this would accurately fit or describe various forms of visual arts but for performing arts it is hard to argue that this would not be the case for the vast majority of artists. When an artist is performing a dance, drama, or song they are taking a given emotion and passing it on to the audience members through a direct representation of their emotions. This is especially true in the case of drama because the goal of the artist is to make the audience feel an intended emotion

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Carolyn Korsmeyer, Aesthetics: The Big Questions (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1998) 12 - 18. Gordon Graham, Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2005), 31 34.

and when this is successfully done then the artist has done their job for the night. However one of the biggest differences when it comes to Tolstoys definition of art - in comparison to other forms of art - is that Tolstoy believes that the emotion must (and always does) come through the artist.1 When it comes to most cases of performance arts (especially drama) there are many other people who come into the picture making the emotion presented not solely the artists. For example when looking at drama - while the artist is the one who the emotions of the character are being channeled through these emotions are specific and are meant to reflect and represent the way in which the playwright intended their character to be seen. The actor must answer to the director who must answer to the producer who must answer to the playwright. As a result, the emotions coming out of the actor are not as raw or as individualized as the ones coming from a literary or visual artist. David Borsema, notes in his book The Philosophy of Art, the audience takes on an even more imperative role when looking at performances that include audience participation.2 Borsema uses John Cages infamous musical composition 433 as an example, noting that during this performance the performer sits at a piano and does not play any notes and then gets up after four minutes and thirty-three seconds and leaves.3 The audiences factions and responses then become a part of the performance as the performer essentially does nothing. There are also plays that are written to involve audience interaction in which the characters jump off the stage and right into the audience. An audience members reaction can always be guesses or assumptions
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Gordon Graham, Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2005), 31 34. David Boersema, Philosophy of Art: Aesthetic Theory and Practice (Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2013), 262. Ibid.

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but will never actually be known until the moment that the audience member reacts. This leaves some contents or aspects of the play unknown, and is always changing depending on which performance is attended. Unlike other types of art music, theatre, and dance (when done live), which always hold an element of surprise. Literary and visual arts are fine tuned and created as a single piece that, at least on the surface, appear exactly the same to anyone who looks at them. With performing arts there is always the chance that a performer could forget the lyrics to the song, or a performer could experience something that allows them to better understand their role as a certain character causing them to get the most emotional and impactful performance yet. A performance always has the same given structure and outline but what actually happens on the night of the performance is constantly changing. As indicated above, while both art works of art there are many difference between performing arts and visual arts. With visual arts there is much more of a free or improvisational aspect behind working on a piece of art while performance arts tends to contain much more concrete and extremely thought out pieces. This is not to say that visual arts pieces are not thought out or predetermined. Unlike visual arts, however, drama requires a lot of decisions being predetermined and also involves a lot of rehearsals before the final product is presented. When a play is shown more than one night then the final product is also being re-created and re-presented over and over leaving room for human error or small changes to be made during the play. With visual arts, however, it is more of a one time deal. The artist creates their work of art and it is the only true original piece. The painting is created and does not change over time, while with performance arts, unless recorded, the artwork itself is constantly being recreated. It seems to only

exist while in performance. Time before and after the performance is a past and ending of the given art rather than a continuance like a visual art would be. Since performing arts relies heavily on audience interaction it is apparent that audience members and artists alike are in the right to critique a given performance. It is true that an artist might be able to better understand certain techniques or themes within a performance. This does not mean, however, that an audience member is not just as capable of doing so. In fact, ultimately it is the audience members who decide whether or not a performance was successful in accomplishing what the artist intended to accomplish. While a performing arts artist might be able to tell whether or not stylistically an artist has done an accurate job within their performance audience members are the ones who are reacting to the piece and can also articulate and explain why or why not a certain piece has resonated with them. That is probably the biggest discrepancy between performing arts and visual arts due to the fact that visual arts does not always have an intended audience member and has many intricate styles and parts to it that in some cases only an experienced visual arts artist would be able to understand. An investigation of theorist Edmund Burkes idea of emotion within art will also be profitable in this context. Burke believes that one can gain pleasure from pain if you are distanced enough from it.1 Burke uses the example of people attending a hanging or execution.2 If you do not know the person who is being hung then watching this can have an exciting and pleasurable feel.3 The same can be said for forms of dance, song, or drama. An audience member can relate

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Carolyn Korsmeyer, Aesthetics: The Big Questions (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1998) 256 - 257. Carolyn Korsmeyer, Aesthetics: The Big Questions (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1998) 259. Ibid.

or empathize with the story being told by the artist which can give them pleasure as a result of the performance. Although the performance can be sad or upsetting if the artist is able to transfer this emotion to their audience, then the audience member is still receiving some sort of satisfaction (or as Burke would call it, pleasure) at the culmination of the performance.1 Burke makes the argument that gaining pleasure does not have to be only from positive feelings or experiences but can rather stem from negative or painful moments.2 The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a fine example of this. Hamlet is a sad and twisted play that contains betrayal, murder, removed incest and ultimately ends with the majority of the main characters dead.3 The audience grows to love and hate certain characters and is allowed the opportunity to judge their lives in a removed way. If the story of Hamlet were happening in an audience members actual life it would be quite horrific and traumatizing and not one part of it would be enjoyable. However, because the audience is given the opportunity to watch the story of Hamlet unfold without having any participation or connection to the story they are drawn in and are intrigued by the story and its gruesome and saddening end. This is one of the reasons that Hamlet is such a famous and well known play and demonstrates peoples ability to find pleasure and joy in something that is so painful and raw. While performing arts and visual arts are quite opposed in some cases they are also very similar in that their art can be defined and articulated in a number of different ways by various theorists and philosophers. It is easy to see why visual and performing arts are both con1 2 3

Carolyn Korsmeyer, Aesthetics: The Big Questions (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1998) 256-257. Ibid. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, prince of Denmark. Ed. K. Deighton. London: Macmillan, 1919. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet_1_2.html >.

sidered forms of art, while also being contained and maintained under different subcategories. As in cases of visual art - the ultimate decision or recognition of what makes a certain work of performance art, art is very opinion based and depends on which theorist or philosopher one identifies or agrees with. Performing arts is very much audience inclusive, yet the making and process of this work of art is another piece of art and of itself. As Burke and Collingwood would agree, the emotion and process that an artist has to go through in order to achieve and relay this emotion to their audience is one of the most important and intrinsic parts of performing arts, ultimately creating the main difference between performing arts and any other type or sub category of the arts.

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