Kim 1

Lani Kim
Hinman
IB Philosophy HL
15 May 2014
Philosophy of Art Response
Quote: No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an
artist. -Oscar Wilde
Art cannot be a mere replication of reality. Instead, the artists role is to envision the
world in a completely new way, so that the world is virtually unrecognizable compared to its
original state, which then becomes the work of art. Therefore, art does not imitate life, because
that would render art indistinguishable from life, and thus art would not create a new experience
for the viewer.
With this idea of art in mind, can a portrait be considered art? Portraits are typically
replications of reality, as they serve to portray a persons appearance. A hyper-realistic portrait is
almost like a photograph, which is merely an image or reproduction of reality. Therefore, if the
artist aims to accurately draw or paint the person, then according to Wilde, he is not really an
artist. However, what about a distorted portrait, like the abstract works of Pablo Picasso? With
his geometric and strangely colored faces, Picasso sees reality differently, which is what makes
him an artist. Now, consider a photograph, or a video. These mediums are exact recordings of
reality, unaltered in any way. Therefore, are these mediums unable to be labeled as art? Perhaps
the manipulations by the photographer, like the focusing of the lens, can be considered an
interpretation of reality, thus making photographs and videos art.

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When Wilde uses the phrase things as they really are, he might possibly be referring to
the truth, or reality. If so, then is it impossible for art to portray truth? For example,
photojournalism attempts to convey the levity of a situation through art. Two famous examples
come to mind: the Napalm girl from the Vietnam War, and Kevin Carters photograph of the
malnourished child with a vulture behind her. While these photographs certainly have a great
emotional impact, they also have the possibility of being biased. This bias is thus the artists
interpretation of reality.
Alternatively, the phrase as they really are could be alluding to the definition of art.
Perhaps Wilde is suggesting that art can never be defined, because the scope of art is too broad to
fit under a single definition. Maybe it is more accurate to state that art defines the artist, rather
than the other way around, where the artist defines what is art. Since each artist perceives his
reality differently, the art that he produces will be unique. Therefore, the sheer range in artwork
makes it almost impossible to define what art is; however, the one quality that all artwork shares
is that it is unique to the artist who produced it. Wittgenstein, who used an example of physical
resemblances within families to explain his theory, supported this belief. A child may resemble
his father, and his father may resemble his sister (the childs aunt), but the child may not
resemble his aunt. Similarly, while not all art may be exactly the same, they all possess some
quality that relates them all.
Therefore, the artists role is to find another aspect that is missing from the entirety that is
art. If the artist merely chooses to focus on duplicating reality, then he cannot be called an artist.
Instead, the artist must interpret the world around him, and channel this perspective into his
work. By doing so, he will encourage contemplation by humans about the actions of humanity;
this provoking of thought is thus the purpose of art.

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