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diff --git a/essays/concept_art.tex b/essays/concept_art.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bfe4c79 --- /dev/null +++ b/essays/concept_art.tex @@ -0,0 +1,214 @@ +\chapter{Concept Art} +{ \raggedleft (1961) \par } + + +Concept art is first of all an art of which the material is concepts, as the +material of e.g. music is sound. Since concepts are closely bound up with +language, concept art is a kind of art of which the material is language. That +is, unlike e.g. a work of music, in which the music proper (as opposed to +notation, analysis, etc.) is just sound, concept art proper will involve +language. From the philosophy of language, we learn that a concept may as +well be thought of as the intension of a name; this is the relation between +concepts and language.\footnote{The extension of the word 'table' is all +existing tables; the intension of 'table' is all possible instances of a table.} +The notion of a concept is a vestige of the notion of +a platonic form (the thing which e.g. all tables have in common: tableness), +which notion is replaced by the notion of a name objectively, metaphysically +related to its intension (so that all tables now have in common their +objective relation to table). Now the claim that there can be an objective +relation between a name and its intension is wrong, and (the word) concept, +as commonly used now, can be discredited (see my book, Philosophy +Proper). If, however, it is enough for one that there be a subjective relation +between a name and its intension, namely the unhesitant decision as to the +way one wants to use the name, the unhesitant decisions to affirm the names +of some things but not others, then concept is valid language, and concept +art has a philosophically valid basis. + +Now what is artistic, aesthetic, about a work which is a body of +concepts? This question can best be answered by telling where concept art +came from; I developed it in an attempt to straighten out certain traditional +activities generally regarded as aesthetic. The first of these is structure art, +music, visual art, etc., in which the important thing is "structure." My +definitive discussion of structure art is in my unpublished essay \essaytitle{Structure +Art and Pure Mathematics}; here I will just summarize that discussion. Much +structure art is a vestige of the time when \eg music was believed to be +knowledge, a science, which had important things to say in astronomy \etc +Contemporary structure artists, on the other hand, tend to claim the kind of +cognitive value for their art that conventional contemporary mathematicians +claim for mathematics. Modern examples of structure art are the fugue and +total serial music. These examples illustrate the important division of +structure art into two kinds according to how the structure is appreciated. In +the case of a fugue, one is aware of its structure in listening to it; one +imposes relationships, a categorization (hopefully that intended by the +composer) on the sounds while listening to them, that is, has an (associated) +artistic structure experience. In the case of total serial music, the structure is +such that this cannot be done; one just has to read an analysis of the +music, definition of the relationships. Now there are two things wrong with +structure art. First, its cognitive pretensions are utterly wrong. Secondly, by +trying to be music or whatever (which has nothing to do with knowledge), +and knowledge represented by structure, structure art both fails, is +completely boring, as music, and doesn't begin to explore the aesthetic +possibilities structure can have when freed from trying to be music or +whatever.The first step in straightening out e.g. structure music is to stop +calling it music, and start saying that the sound is used only to carry the +structure and that the real point is the structure--and then you will see how +limited, impoverished, the structure is. Incidentally, anyone who says that +works of structure music do occasionally have musical value just doesn't +know how good real music (the Goli Dance of the Baoule; Cans on Windows +by La Monte Young; the contemporary American hit song Sweets for My +Sweets, by the Drifters) can get. When you make the change, then since +structures are concepts, you have concept art. Incidentally, there is another, +less important kind of art which when straightened out becomes concept art: +art involving play with the concepts of the art such as, in music, the score, +performer vs. listener, playing a work. The second criticism of structure art +applies, with the necessary changes, to this art. + +The second main antecedent of structure art is mathematics. This is the +result of my revolution in mathematics, presented in my 1966 \essaytitle{Mathematical +Studies}; here I will only summarize. The revolution occured first because for +reasons of taste I wanted to deemphasize discovery in mathematics, +mathematics as discovering theorems and proofs. I wasn't good at such +discovery, and it bored me. The first way I thought of to de-emphasize +discovery came not later than Summer, 1960; it was that since the value of +pure mathematics is now regarded as aesthetic rather than cognitive, why not +try to make up aesthetic theorems, without considering whether they are +true. The second way, which came at about the same time, was to find, as a +philosopher, that the conventional claim that theorems and proofs are +discovered is wrong, for the same reason I have already given that 'concept' +can be discredited. The third way, which came in the fall-winter of 1960, +was to work in unexplored regions of formalist mathematics. The resulting +mathematics still had statements, theorems, proofs, but the latter weren't +discovered in the way they traditionally were. Now exploration of the wider +possibilities of mathematics as revolutionized by me tends to lead beyond +what it makes sense to call mathematics; the category of mathematics, a +vestige of Platonism, is an unnatural, bad one. My work in mathematics leads +to the new category of concept art, of which straightened out traditional +mathematics (mathematics as discovery) is an untypical, small but +intensively developed part. + +I can now return to the question of why concept art is art. Why isn't it an +absolutely new, or at least a non-artistic, non-aesthetic activity? The answer +is that the antecedents of concept art are commonly regarded as artistic, +aesthetic activities; on a deeper level, interesting concepts, concepts +enjoyable in themselves, especially as they occur in mathematics, are +commonly said to have beauty. By calling my activity art, therefore, I am +simply recognizing this common usage, and the origin of the activity in +structure art and mathematics. However: it is confusing to call things as +irrelevant as the emotional enjoyment of (real) music, and the intellectual +enjoyment of concepts, the same kind of enjoyment. Since concept art +includes almost everything ever said to be music, at least, which is not music +for the emotions, perhaps it would be better to restrict art to apply to art for +the emotions, and recognize my activity as an independent, new activity, +irrelevant to art (and knowledge). + +\section*{Concept Art Version of Mathematics System 3/26/61 (6/19/61)} + +An element is the adjacent area (with the figure in it) so long as the +apparent, perceived, ratio of the length of the vertical line to that of the +horizontal line (the element's associated ratio) does not change. + +A selection sequence is a sequence of elements of which the first is the one +having the greatest associated ratio, and each of the others has the associated +ratio next smaller than that of the preceding one. (To decrease the ratio, +come to see the vertical line as shorter, relative to the horizontal line, one +might try measuring the lines with a ruler to convince oneself that the +vertical one is not longer than the other, and then trying to see the lines as +equal in length; constructing similar figures with a variety of real (measured) +ratios and practicing judging these ratios; and so forth.) + +[Observe that the order of elements in a selection sequence may not be the +order in which one sees them.] + + +\img{implications} + +\section*{Implications---Concept Art Version of Colored Sheet Music No. 1 3/14/61 (10/11/61)} + +[This is a mathematical system without general concepts of statement, +implication, axiom, and proof. Instead, you make the object, and stipulate +by ostension that it is an axiom, theorem, or whatever. My thesis is that +since there is no objective relation between name and intension, all +mathematics is this arbitrary. Originally, the successive statements, or sheets, +were to be played on an optical audiorecorder.] + +\begin{sysrules} +The axiom: a sheet of cheap, thin white typewriter paper + +The axiom implies statement 2: soak the axiom in inflammable liquid which +does not leave solid residue when burned; then burn it on horizontal +rectangular white fireproof surface---statement 2 is ashes (on surface) + +Statement 2 implies s.3: make black and white photograph of s.2 in white +light (image of ashes' rectangle with respect to white surface (that is, of the +region (of surface, with the ashes on it) with bounding edges parallel to the +edges of the surface and intersecting the four points in the ashes nearest the +four edges of the surface) must exactly cover the film); develop film---s.3 is +the negative. + +s.2 and s.3 imply s.4: melt s.3 and cool in mold to form plastic doubly +convex lens with small curvature; take color photograph of ashes' rectangle +in yellow light using this lens; develop film---s.4 is color negative. + +s.2 and s.4 imply s.5: repeat last step with s.4 (instead of 3), using red +light---s.5 is second color negative + +s.2 and s.5 imply s.6: repeat last step with s.5, using blue light---s.6 is third +color negative + +s.2 and s.6 imply s.7: make lens from s.6 mixed with the ashes which have +been being photographed; make black and white photograph, in white fight, +of that part of the white surface where the ashes' rectangle was; develop film +--- s.7 is second black and white negative + +s.2, s.6, and s.7 imply the theorem: melt, mold, and cool lens used in last +step to form negative, and make lens from s.7; using negative and lens in an +enlarger, make two prints, an enlargement and a reduction--enlargement and +reduction together constitute the theorem. +\end{sysrules} + +\section*{Concept Art: Innpersegs (May--July 1961)} + +\begin{sysrules} +A "halpoint" iff whatever is at any point in space, in the fading rainbow halo +which appears to surround a small bright light when one looks at it through +glasses fogged by having been breathed on, for as long as the point is in the +halo. + +An "init`point" iff a halpoint in the initial vague outer ring of its halo. + + +An "inn`perseq" iff a sequence of sequences of halpoints such that all the +halpoints are on one (initial) radius of a halo; the members of the first +sequence are initpoints; for each of the other sequences, the first member (a +consequent) is got from the non-first members of the preceding sequence +(the antecedents) by being the inner endpoint of the radial segment in the +vague outer ring when they are on the segment, and the other members (if +any) are initpoints or first members of preceding sequences; all first members +of sequences other than the last [two] appear as non-first members, and +halpoints appear only once as non-first members; and the last sequence has +one member. +\end{sysrules} + +\section*{Indeterminacy} + +\begin{sysrules} +A $\ulcorner$totally determinate innperseq' iff an innperseq$\urcorner$ in which one is aware of +(specifies) all halpoints. + +An $\ulcorner$antecedentally indeterminate innperseq' iff an innperseq$\urcorner$ in which one is +aware of (specifies) only each consequent and the radial seqment beyond it. + +A $\ulcorner$halpointally indeterminate innperseq' iff an innperseq$\urcorner$ in which one is +aware of (specifies) only the radial segment in the vague outer ring, and its +inner endpoint, as it progresses inward. +\end{sysrules} + +\subsection*{Innperseqs Diagram} + +In the diagram, different positions of the vague outer ring at different times +are suggested by different shadings. The radial segment in the vague outer +ring moves down the page. The figure is by no means an innperseq, but is +supposed to help explain the definition. + +\img{innperseqsdiagram} + |