Course Contents

• Colonial India and aesthetic values • Philosophy of Modern Art Aesthetic Theories and Critical Writing Analysis of (selected) writings about art and critical review by the student in written form

Course Synopsis

This is a compulsory course for specialization with studio practice. Philosophy of Art is recommended for PhD students because it enhances their intellectual thinking. Philosophical perceptive are vital sources to study the nature of art. The aim of this subject is to teach students of studio practice how to incorporate and utilize aesthetic values for practical application.

Course Learning Outcomes

The purpose of the course is to introduce the student to a number of philosophical questions regarding art. Perhaps the most important of these, or at least one that has long been of central concern to the philosophy of art, is the Socratic question with regard to art, i.e., “what is art?” This question seeks some defining essence, some definition of art that would enable one to recognize art when one encounters it and to distinguish art from what is not art. Another central question concerns whether or not, and upon what basis, evaluative judgments regarding art are possible. Are evaluative judgments regarding art merely matters of taste, purely personal opinion, or is there some basis upon which to make an evaluative judgment of art that is not merely a matter of personal taste? In other words, is criticism of art possible? Philosophers of art are also concerned with the question of the purpose and value of art. What is art for? Do we learn something important in encountering art or does the purpose of art lie in giving pleasure in the contemplation of beautiful objects? Is the purpose of art to express feelings, to make statements, to transform society, or is art for art’s sake alone? What, then, is the value of art? Is art something merely extraneous to a healthy life or society, or is art vitally important, perhaps even necessary, or is art perhaps dangerous and thus subject to control and censorship?