“Was not their mistake once more bred of the life of slavery that they had been living?—a life which was always looking upon everything, except mankind, animate and inanimate—‘nature,’ as people used to call it—as one thing, and mankind as another, it was natural to people thinking in this way, that they should try to make ‘nature’ their slave, since they thought ‘nature’ was something outside them” — William Morris


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Philosophy and Art Criticism

I think I just read the best writing on Rothko I think I've ever seen, in Jean-Luc Marion's book on saturated phenomena. It's truly brilliant. Why?

I believe it's because of the intimacy required for a powerful philosophical engagement. The philosopher isn't prepared to take anything for granted. In particular, phenomenology has a remarkably strong track record in art and literature criticism.

In another sense, it's because artworks are thinking by another means. Thinking when thinking as such is restricted, or blocked, or impossible. A dance happens between the artwork and the philosopher.

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