Exceptional Art & Alluring Art or What Makes Some Art More Important Than Other Art
In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.
The above quote comes from German educator Ernst Fischer. His view of art’s purpose and place in society closely mirrors my own. I would like to briefly flesh out my aesthetic here.
Exceptional Art and Alluring Art
I’ll preface by saying that I am not one to label something as not being Art. I’m fully open to all ways, types, modes, flavors and functions of art. To me, Just about anything can be art (I guess I’m fairly Dadaist in that sense). However, when I think about Art, I do feel an impulse to discern and distinguish between certain characteristics. Perhaps against popular norms, I do want to leave room for what I call “Exceptional Art,” a term that I strongly contrast with “Alluring Art.”
Exceptional Art is art that I reserve the term “genius” for. Some characteristics of Exceptional Art would include (but are not limited to): The ability to have layer upon layer of deep meaning depicted in one piece, unmatched artistic technique or ability, and perhaps most important, the aptitude of a piece to speak to or provoke personal transformation and/or social change toward any blend of beauty, truth and goodness.
Exceptional Art is also honest. The ability to assess the world as it is at any given time–be it dark, sad and ironic or bright, happy and sincere–is so, so important. Exceptional Art is not only appreciated for its aesthetic beauty, but also for the thoughtfulness behind the work. The message (or what the piece communicates) is vital, and the prophetic ability of the piece to transform the viewer (inside and out) in a profound way is critical. To quote Ernst Fischer once again:
“In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.”
Conversely, Alluring Art would be placed at the opposite end of the spectrum. To be brief, this is art that, if nothing else, can be appreciated for its attempt at personal expression, and perhaps its aesthetic qualities (e.g. color, line, composition). Alluring Art is art that might fall under scrutiny for attempting to call itself “Art” (think of the Dogs Playing Poker painting in your Grandmother’s garage).
I do not make these distinctions to label one form of art as being bad and the other as being good. Quite the contrary, Alluring Art can be quite good and greatly appreciated (your Grandmother loved those cute gambling dogs!). What I am saying is that one form of art (Exceptional Art) is more complex than the other. It serves a higher function and has deeper dimensions coupled with a more purposeful duty and intricacy which are contained within the work itself.
Again, this is my personal aesthetic and I actually do agree with the Bohemian creed “art for art’s sake,” which is why I make the distinction of Exceptional Art and Alluring Art; we need them both. To some degree, complex Exceptional Art could not exist without Alluring Art. We could say, as integral thinkers might proclaim, that Alluring Art is more fundamental than Exceptional Art, BUT, Alluring Art is more significant.
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Image above: Photograph of Marcel Duchamp’s sculpture Fountain