The Nature of Art: An Anthology by Thomas E. Wartenberg

The Nature of Art: An Anthology Reviews

• 
  Travis

  I've spent the better part of the last few weeks reviewing new possibilities for my classes this fall. This is one. Among the many anthologies of primary writings on the philosoohy of art, this text has one of the better ranges, as it covers many of the important and influential writers one would want to read on the subject. But that's about where the praise ends.
  
  The primary flaw of this text (aside from its ridiculously high retail price) is that it doesn't have much depth. It only devotes 11 pages to Plato, for instance, despite the fact that he is undoubtably the most influential writer on the subject. And of those 11 pages, Wartenberg includes only a small selection of the Republic devoted to the idea of art as imitation. If you relied on this text alone, you'de never know that Plato also pioneered the possibility of understanding art on the basis of its beauty. Or a host of other things.
  
  This text is clearly aimed at novice readers and offers short selections from 29 writers, organized chronologically but identified topically (i.e., Plato: art as imitation, Aristotle: art as cognition, etc.). Some selections (like Douglas Davis' riff on Walter Benjamin) is a relatively novel inclusion in volumes of this sort (though he gets as many pages as far more important writers, like Plato). Others are staples (like Hume, Kant, Hegel, etc.). If what you want is a taste of art theory, this book is a good choice. Variety is certainly its strength--not only a variety of writers, but a variety of ways of thinking about art. But if you want depth, any depth at all, you'd be much better served (and would hold on to more of your hard-earned cash) by choosing either Hofstadter's longtime standard "Philosophies of Art and Beauty" or Stephen David Ross' more recent and broader "Art and Its Significance"--both of which are less than half the price of this book.
• 
  Sharon Smith

  This was the assigned text for the theoretical discussion portion of the graduate sculpture class I'm currently taking as part of my MFA program. Specifically, we read the 3rd Edition, which was published earlier this year.
  
  As an overview of art theory, this anthology is quite good. While it doesn't generally get into great depth with any particular philosopher/theorist, it certainly makes up for it in diversity (particularly in the 3rd edition, which adds another 4 or 5 essays). An especially helpful aspect of the book is that Wartenberg introduces each essay with a "plain language" summary of the particular argument being presented. Some of my less absurdly over-read classmates felt that these introductions were the only reason they understood some of the essays at all! (I'm one of those weirdos the reads things like The Golden Bough & the dictionary -OED, natch- for fun so archaic phrasologies are less of an issue for me.)
  
  The real downside to this book -- other than falling prey to my particular pet peeve of including Freud, whom I feel should not be discussed in any depth by people without a solid psych background because we know how much of his theories are utter shite-- is its price tag. Most art books can justify being pricy because of having lots of pretty pictures, which mean royalties & extra printing costs. This book has none. I recommend looking for a used copy-- *way* more reasonable that way.
• 
  Yunjunseong

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