1. What are the feminist arguments about art and gender discussed in class and in the textbook?
The discussion in class reveals that, work of art played huge role in enabling women to push for their rights and privileges in a patriarchal society. Upon the emergence of feminist art in the 60s, it was possible for women to use work of art to agitate for issues affecting them. For instance, one of the earliest work of art representing gender was the Paleolithic statuette Venus of Willendorf, which represented feminine fertility. This work of art features the ancient Indian goddess of childbirth surrounded by children to depict sense of motherhood and fertility.
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2. Discuss Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of taste.
The theory of taste determines the way individuals look at different things in life. Whatever people call taste is an individual and innate choice. Through taste, individuals maintain a certain social distance that ends up classifying people. In short, taste is a social weapon used to classify individuals into low and high. It determines the foods, houses, cosmetics, and furniture among other things that people use.
3. Discuss the Freudian theory of the self and its relation to art (in relation to surrealism, or whatever else you think works).
Freudian theory of the self relates to art in the sense that, art is simply a wish fulfilled in a physical way. In his theory, Freud argues that a human being has id, ego, and superego. The id is always pushing ego and superego with desires and needs. The desires may be in form of power, fame, riches, and honor among others. However, since humans are limited in achieving all the afore-listed gratifications, he transfers all of them into reality through works of art. According to Freud, art is a close resemblance of reality, and it remains the only way to satisfy the id.
4. Discuss Kant’s theory of beauty and of the sublime.
In view of Kant’s theory of beauty and of the sublime, he holds that, beauty emanates from imagination. In its context, beauty comes from pure aesthetic experience. In its context, it is judgmental in the sense that, what might appear beautiful to one person might be different to another. The faculty of imagination in humans determines whether something is beautiful or otherwise. Sublime simply refers to a mental process, which limits human knowledge towards a certain subject. Reasoning and sublime are intertwined, and the lead to imagination. With imagination comes human mind, which is the faculty that determines apprehension, perception, and presentation. The aforementioned aspect is useful in determining whether something is beautiful or not.
5. What is Walter Benjamin’s theory of mechanical reproduction and how does he think it affects art?
In his theory, Walter Benjamin thinks that mechanical production has affected the originality of work of art. In his argument, the introduction of photography and film is twofold. The afore-mentioned forms of mechanical production helps in appreciating the work of art, while at the same time, they lead to distraction and deception. According to Benjamin, aura or the originality of the work of art is dead following the introduction of reproducible images. The fact that the work of art can be reproduced opens up an avenue for people to use it in whichever way they like. However, the major problem emanates from the fact that, humans are ready to continue consuming the reproduced work. They have failed to see the importance of an original work of art.
6. According to Jean Baudrillard, what kind of culture do we live in and why?
According to Jean Baudrillard, human beings live in a world of consumerism. Basing his arguments on Marxism theory, Jean Baudrillard argues that, production is at the center of life, which has led to a capitalist society. Human beings have been dominated by production of things, which dictates their social life. People have embraced a culture that has denied them self-determination and individuality. For instance, the media has realized that the society is always consuming, and as a result, they create content that subjects human to submission and standardization. The reason humans have embraced this culture is because they have been defeated to subjectivity by the object world.
In overall, the various theories from Freud, Kant, Benjamin, and Baudrillard indicate that human life is a combination of instincts, tastes, imagination, and sense of submission. Society is divided into classes, which are hidden in tastes and imaginations.
