Art As A Cultural System

Paper Summary:

Analysis of art as an intellectual and emtoional aeathetic response. Discusses Clifford Geertz's theory of art forms and their cultural context. The meaning perceived in aesthetic form and objects. Applies Geertz's framework to Abstract Expressionism as it developed in the post-World War II period. Limitations of Geertz's theory. Critical views of Clement Greenberg and Lucie-Smith.

From the Paper:

"Clifford Geertz (1983) has proposed a theory of art as a cultural system in which the response to aesthetics is both intellectual and emotional, or rooted in one s feelings. These feelings in turn are seen as rooted in culture, itself manifested in the varied expressions of religion, morality, science, commerce, technology, politics, amusements, law, and even in the societal organization of everyday practical existence. Geertz (1983, p. 96) argues that talk about art tends to move beyond the technical and even the spiritualization of the technical and is directed to placing it within the context of these other expressions of human purpose and the pattern of experience they collectively explain.

Art, therefore, is very much a product, expression, symbol, and commentary upon the artist and the society in which the ..."

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