The arts and theory of knowledge

1. Questions from the IB Visual Arts Guide The Arts and Theory of Knowledge

2. “If you can describe a film in words it probably isn’t one.” Robert Altman (1925 – 2006) Film director and screenwriter. To what extent is artistic knowledge something which cannot be expressed in another way?

3. The same Ways of Knowing but in different combinations? Are the Ways of Knowing employed in radically different ways in the Arts than in other Areas of Knowledge? The ToK Ways of Knowing

4. Ways of Knowing such as memory and emotion can be combined … Norman Rockwell and The Saturday Evening Post, (1950s) USA.

5. … to recreate an idealised past. “Coronation Street” – the longest running “soap” on British TV, created in 1960 and still running. It idealised a world of Northern, urban life which was already disappearing.

6. The artist does not need to imagine what happens next. He finds out. Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) Abstract Expressionist painter. To what extent does imagination play a special role in the visual arts?

7. It’s not special to the Arts.

8. Good books – bad books? “There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all.” Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), Writer. What moral responsibilities do artists have?

9. The moral boundaries of Art? “Unless you tell me it’s been withdrawn, I’m coming round to the academy and I’m going to stab the first person I see.” Threat received by the Royal Academy, London in 1997. “Myra” (1995) by Marcus Harvey, UK.

10. What constitutes knowledge in the Arts? “ Hambletonian ” By George Stubbs, (1724 – 1806),UK. Does it tell us about Art or more about racehorse anatomy and 18 th century English society? How can the subjective viewpoint of an individual contribute to knowledge in the Arts?

11. Is an Artwork a piece of knowledge? “White On White” by Kazimir Malevich, (1879 – 1935) What else could it be?

12. A ToK approach to judging Art … 1) The intention of the artist. Harriet Beecher Stowe wished to draw public attention to the condition of black slaves in the southern states of the USA in her 1852 novel. “ What are the standards by which we judge artworks?

13. … is in four parts … 2) The artwork itself, - in this case the aesthetic value? “David” by Michelangelo.

14. … covering most artistic activities … 3) The reaction of the audience here reacting unfavourably to a new fashion in the 1960s.

15. … but not all equally. The novels of Dickens … … or paintings of the period? 4) The ability of art to transport us to another place, time or context.

16. Can we separate the process from the product? Why might we be concerned with process rather than production in the search for knowledge? The Philadelphia Orchestra.

17. The act of creation is man-made … Wood-carving.

18. … from pole –vaulting to porcelain making.

19. The Arts can serve any master. Posters of World War II. Do the Arts have a social function?

20. One chair, one man, one number. To what extent is truth different in the Arts, Mathematics and Ethics? 315 people were executed by “Old Sparky” in Sing Sing Prison, USA, between 1897 and 1963.