DOC Social History of Art; Volume 4: Naturalism; Impressionism; The Film Age by Arnold Hauser in Arts-Photography

Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Concise and ClearBy GBThis is a very well-written book that should be made available in a very affordable paperback; as opposed to the 70 dollar paperback that came out for it. The cover and textual layout are also inadequate to the content; especially for the price; seemingly poorly type-set.As far as the content of the book goes; Schwartz suggests; in a word; that judgment in the arts and judgment in democratic politics are analogous; of the same form. However; to cultivate judgment; politics is a poor training field; since a poor decision can carry disastrous results. Conversely; in our experiences of the arts; we can play and experiment with our judgments without those nasty side-effects for poor; because immature; judgment. As a result; democracy needs the arts to cultivate judgment in a safe way so that it can later play an appropriate role in politics.The writing is extremely clear and draws on a large literature to advance its argument.How persuasive is it? One problem may be that critics are unlikely to see democracy as a place for the rationalistic form of judgment Schwartz attributes to it and the arts. For that reason; it may be unsatisfying in the long run; and therefore in many ways may preach to the choir. Still; it is a pleasant and informative read about the philosophical issues related to subsidizing the arts; as well as some of the historical and artistic details of those issues as well.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Arts as our most powerful social engineBy John Paul SchwartzThis is a very powerful and needed work. The success of the American economy in the last twenty years has produced to some; an economic rejection of the artist as a noble pioneer and prophet of truth and introspection. The artist has become a purveyor to many of just one more form of consumer goods rather than an Ideal. Just as our society seems focused upon the idea of "celeberty"; views seem to be evolving as artists being those who possesses clever insight and executes their craft with reasonable ability to produce a product that garnersing a portion of public affection and collectability and becomesing just one more valuable commodity to be traded and exchanged with an eye to rising intrinsic worth. Dr. Schwartz asserts the artists work is rather an endeavor of idealism and exploration. Just as the exploration of the universe brings discoveries that alter our perception of physical existence; and often reveals sights and grandeur that can be both beautiful and shocking as well as challenging. As a natural extention of this ideal; government funding of the Arts should be done with considerations very similar to those made when concerning the building of national infrastructure. He argues that Art can be shown to have a vitally necessesary and demonstratable function; serving as a powerful catalyst for building tolerance; insight; and the intellectual stimulation so essential to a democratic society. It must support ventures into realms of thought once thought to be too "dangerous" to traverse; for the same reasons it supports geophysical and astrophysical exploration. He asserts the preservation and enrichment of a representative democracy cannot be restricted to simply issues of legal and economic equality. He presents issues of considerations as to the role of the Arts and their inherent ability to transcend polical and social issues appealing often more directly to the emotions and intellect in subtle and powerful ways that stimulate more productive debate. Dr. Schwartz examines issues concerning roles of the State; the moral considerations in the use of taxation as a tool to raise funds; and the fundamental roles Government must serve in creating the free and noble atmosphere of political neutrality needed so that "the paltry sums needed to support them represent a wise investment." In this era of often rampantly bitter debate regarding the funding of the arts by Govenment; this book is an vitally important examination of the ingredients needed to construct a sound and democratic approach to this debate by examining the needed roles that Art must serve in our society. He asserts that although Art appeals to the emotional nature; our approach to the support of the Arts must have a sound philosophically directed base in order to create a maximum and effective introspective impact upon the debate of citizens. This book is a vital and essential tool with which to examine and consider the issues in this often emotionally charged debate. As an artist and teacher; I find this to be a powerful tool in suspending the judgement of the emotionally skeptical who seem to check their intellect "at the door" when debating these issues. These ideas are a progression of work that have been presented to the New York Council of the Arts. To me they serve to more clearly define roles in public funding of the Arts as much more than mere social jewelery.