Langer and You
Please post a reflection on one way in which a concept in Suzanne Langer's "The Cultural Importance of Art" reflects, enlightens, or contradicts your own experience. Refer directly to the text, and use a specific reference to your life.
All but the first person to post should comment on one other student's post.
Have fun!
ProfC
All but the first person to post should comment on one other student's post.
Have fun!
ProfC
posted by wordperson at 6:30 AM
11 Comments:
I like the concept brought to attention by Langer concerning the use of language. While we all use language on a daily basis to communicate our ideas and concepts, it is only our communication of concepts and not our communication of feelings. When we have a feeling, we have to back away from it to let people know what is going on inside of us. That is what language requires of us. We need to find the right words, or to convey the right concepts, and that requires thought. Art should not remove you from your feelings, and it does not. When you create art, you are using different means for communication than language. Using art, you can convey your emotions without symbols and without words. You just put your emotion into whatever artistic piece you are working on and the feeling shows. I like the idea of saying something without using words, because words can always be taken the wrong way, but a work of art is always the feeling that created it.
Later.
I agree that art is one of the only ways to convey subjective information. Feelings and emotions, when explained with language, create a weak but finite definition. There is a whole world, whether or not you would like to dub it irrational, in which art can translate for you. I does this all at once, not letter by letter and term by term.
What made me think most in the reading was the comparison between Stuart Chase’s and Susanne Langer’s views on imagination as it relates to art and the individual. Chase says, “it merely presents forms…to imagination… [and is] the source of all nonsense and bizarre erroneous beliefs”. Langer counters this with “it is also the source of all insight and true beliefs. Imagination is probably the oldest mental trait that is typically human…” This seems to be two sides of a complicated spectrum. At one side it is downing the meaning of art and the other it is giving it credit to everything that one uses to feel. I would have to refute both of these ideas and claim to be somewhere in the middle. Chase is wrong in down playing the role of imagination. With just the word erroneous (meaning not right or true) she strips away arts credibility. When I feel melancholy during a piece of blues music I would be hurt to think that my feelings were meaningless. It links me not only the work, but to the author and my own mind and soul. On the other end, I do not believe that imagination is the foundation of all insight. I can think of an infant crying because they are hungry, not getting feed, and then developing anger towards it. It does not take imagination for this to occur; it takes a certain amount of stimuli and the right circumstances. I do believe that more complex emotional truths are derived from imagination, those that experience has not yet draw us to. With these ideas in mind, I can take something from both of these authors yet my imagination from their writing (their art) is neither erroneous nor is it a foundation of ability to comprehend it.
I half to agree with what Later siad about words being seperat from feelings. I think it is very hard for someone to exspress there true feelings through words. Its even harder if your not very good with the writen language. Thats why feelings can be shown through art. When somone is sad they may paint dark colors or play depressing songs (music). I have found that writing what you want to mean, is something much different than what you do(point and case). Art is an escape.
Langers article "The Cultural Importance of Art," takles about one of the leading roles in human development. Leading roles in human development is done by opening the perception of the mind and expressing ideas and feelings.
Art expresses ideas and feelings through symbols. For example, sound, movement, pictures, color, and words are symbols. Langer states, "Art is indeed, the spearhead of human development social and individual."(82) This relates to my paper 'Positive changes in black Americans struggle for rights represented in the arts from the 1600's to the year 2006'.
Black Americans inspired movements of social change. For example, the formely known musician artist, Marvin Gay written a song title "Whats Going On". The song exploited ways in which the world faces the problems of society that needed to be changed. Marvin Gays' song raised the awareness of the world.He let the world know problems faced in provery stricken communities. Marving Gay's songs show how art is a spearhead of human social development.
Maya Angelou wrote a poem titled, "Still I Rise". Thoughts are expressed to inspire black Americans to remain strong and never give up. The poem brings out a 'feeling' of self pride. Maya Angelou's poem expresses how art helps im human individual development. When listening, felling, sharing and expressing our thoughts with one another art is being created.
I like how Langer discusses "feeling." She describes feeling as pleasure and dispair, sensibility, evoking tender or directed emotional attitude. "...it takes in all those meanings; it applies to everything that may be felt." I agree with her. Art can create and intensify attitude and emotion. Without words, art can communicate through feeling and i beleive that is what Langer is conveying. When i see art, and when I feel that i understand art, i notice a different change in my attitude. My emotions and feelings connect to different kinda of art such as music, dance, sculptured and painted art.
(continued...)All of these feelings, indirect feelings and art can effect people in different ways. When listening to a piece of music different people can feel different feelings. Art can be history and future, sorrow and happiness. It can effect a mood and people choose their form of art to represent their feelings at that time. Feelings are a form of communication. If I think about how many times someone has said “what’s the matter” or “your full of hell today” without me speaking a word, I know that I just communicated through my feelings, emotion, and attitude. If I were able to create art, and when people do create art, they express their feelings and how they view a certain issue or what they are dealing with and how they convey their life at the time.
Langer writes about how art and emotion go together and i think she has a point. All i keep thinking is that like when you are down about something, what do you tend to listen to, but songs to make you express your anger (ie. Rap, Screamo)but on the other hand if you are in a happy mood, you might listen to upbeat music. Maybe your favorite kind of music.
Just a comment to Later's Post, i totally agree with you. I think that language is very important in Art.and you are write we need to form the words, to form the sentences.
with me it a mixture of to things, well maybe three. it depends on how you define each. for me art is a stew made of reality (real life), imagination, and creativity. Imagination and creativity, to me, go hand and hand. with those three i feel you can produce art. Langer put a little weight on imagination but i feel that in most cases this variable is a great component. Sometimes reality itself can produce art but the creativity comes when finding a way to present it to onlookers...
I like how Langer writes about art as being a way of self expression that cannot be done through words. "Art objectifies the sentience and desire... that are generally regarded as irrational because words cannot give us clear ideas of them." (90) Certain feelings that you have can not be expressed in a way that others will understand. The way you express them is through a portrait, pottery, music, dance, etc. I can definitely relate to that because I love music and dance. There are times when people ask me how to move and feel the music when they are dancing. I tell them that I can not teach them or explain to them how to move to the music because that comes from within. It comes from that small place in your heart where certain feelings have no words, no explanation. The way you get them out is through moving your body the way it wants to move to the music. It's a way of your soul speaking out.
Responding to Later's comment, art shouldn't remove your feelings from your piece of art. I don not feel that my dancing would be as fun and enjoyable as it is if it wasn't full of my feelings. I don't think others would enjoy it as much if I didn't pour all of my inner feelings into my movements.
I think im the first person to post and I have no idea how to post with out some one already posting Prof. CHurch hasn't even asked us the official question but here is my response from class. "Words are to poems as a stone is to the stone carving sculptor" To Look At Anything: "... You must take the time and touch the very place they issue from." Both of these phrases show that words and perception are the first sensations we have when viewind a poem or a piece of art. However, the truth and meaning in that piece of work is much deeper than it first appears.
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