Lesson - 5 : d06115

Argument behind “Art for Art’s sake”

    This lesson discusses the argument behind “Art for Art’s sake”. Art adds value to literature and hence literature is portrayed to us through and as a form of art. Art is considered to be religious and is complete in it. In short art is made to be beautiful and art exists to celebrate beauty. Art only has beauty and does not need any other justification.

    Another view of art is its utility or pragmatism. According to this school of thought, art exists for propagation and for upholding justice. But this school of thought has not been accepted by many literary critics.

    There are different types of arts; a few of them are the art of construction, art of sculpture, art of music and art of literature. All these arts are not the same and have different aims. We lose ourselves and gain a particular type of enjoyment when reading literary works. Literature is composed of language and language in turn is composed of various combinations.

    An author who composes literary works expects his work to create an impact in the mind of the reader and last for a long time. The French author Jean Paul Sartre says that the author creates an appeal in the mind of the reader. Hence art is considered to be a powerful medium and has the power to create such an appeal. Another example is that after seeing Picasso’s paintings some people have started hating wars.

    The argument art for art’s sake is prevalent in western countries. Critics from these countries emphasize this point. Shakespeare’s critic A.C. Bradley was one of the first to emphasize this point. According to Bradley, art is a separate world of its own and when one starts enjoying art, other worldly desires are forgotten. J.S. Mill emphasizes the point that art is a feeling and when lonely it exhibits itself. Immanuel Kant expresses the following view, “The Poet’s audience is reduced to a single member, consisting of the poet himself”. But poets like Matthew Arnold do not agree with this thought.

    In Tamil culture, art is a component of life and references to this can be found in the Tholkaapiam. According to the Tholkaapiam, poems should reflect the life of people. Each art has its own features as well as common features with other arts. Arts also have the power to influence people. For example the works of Robert Frost were influential in Nehru’s moulding of Modern India.

    From this lesson we have learnt about the argument art for art’s sake only. Two different views exist on this statement. According to the French author Jean Paul Sartre, “the author creates an everlasting appeal in the mind of the reader”. In Tamil culture, art is a component of life and is mixed in various ways. But the school of thought where art is beauty is more prevalent than the other school of thought today.