ART, NATURE, AND ARISTS

1
ART, NATURE, AND ARISTS

• On page 15 of Marcia Muelder Eatons Basic Issues
  in Aesthetics (1988) she says the following
• 1. a) A rock can become a work of art only if
  someone - an artist - is responsible (at least in
  part) for the ways it looks.
• b) Only if someone works on a rock can it become
  a piece of sculpture.
• c) The actual work done can be minimal . . .
  Bold italics hers, regular italics mine.

2
Carl Andres Stone Field
3
ROBERT SMITHSON (1928-1973) I
4
ROBERT SMITHSON II
5
The Notion of an Artifact

• The Oxford English Dictionary defines artifact
  as an artificial product, and defines
  artificial as opposed to natural, made by or
  resulting from art or artifice.
• Artifice is the action of an artificer and an
  artificer is a craftsman, or one who makes by
  art or skill.
• The term art in the preceding quotes refers to
  human skill as the result of knowledge and
  practice. Merriam-Websters Collegiate
  Dictionary defines artifact as something
  created by humans, usually for a practical
  purpose.

6
The Artifactuality Condition I

• The artifactuality condition df. For any
  object o that is an artwork a, o is an artifact.
• The artifactuality condition maintains that all
  works of art are artifacts.
• This is a means by which artworks are
  distinguished from natural objects, especially
  when they have beauty in common.
• It does not of course follow that all artifacts
  are works of art.

7
The Artifactuality Condition II

• When the artifactuality condition says that all
  works of art are artifacts, it is using
  artifact in the traditional restrictive sense.
• An artwork that is an artifact in the traditional
  restrictive sense indicates something that is
  manmade, or, more specifically made by hand.
• This is especially true when we think of
  traditional paintings, such as Leonardos Mona
  Lisa, or traditional sculptures such as
  Michelangelos Pietà.
• These things are manmade and handmade.

8
Leonardo The Mona Lisa
9
Michelangelo's Pieta
10
The Artifactuality Condition III

• The artifactuality condition in the traditional
  restrictive sense is challenged by many works of
  20th century and contemporary art.
• Philosophically, our options are either to
• a) reject the artificactuality condition and
  simply deny that all artworks are artifacts or
• b) broaden the notion of artifact to include
  objects that have an understandable relation to
  an artistic intention.

11
Some Works That Challenge the Artifactuality
Condition in the Traditional Sense
12
Carl Andre Equivalent VIII
13
Carl Andre Floor Sculptures
14
Robert Smithson
Rocks and Mirror Square II, 1969/71
15
Richard Long Land Art
Ireland Line
16
MINIMALISM
Untitled, Donald Judd, 1969
17
Untitled, Donald Judd, 1969
18
Dan Flavin, the nominal three (to William of
Ockham), 1964
19
Bruce Nauman, Neon Templates of the Left Side of
My Body, 19
20
Joseph Kosuth Any Five Foot Sheet of Glass to
Lean Against Any Wall, 1965
21
Robert Irwin, Black-Line Volume, 1975-1976
22
CONCEPTUAL ART
Joseph Kosuth, Titled (Art as Idea as Idea)
Water, 1966
23
CONCEPTUAL ART
Joseph Kosuth, Clock (One and Five), 1965
24
CONCEPTUAL ART
ALL THE THINGS I KNOW BUT OF WHICH I AM NOT AT
THE MOMENT THINKING - 136PM JUNE 15, 1969
Robert Barry, 1969
25
BODY ART/PERFORMANCE ART
Chris Burden, Bed Piece, 1972
26
Chris Burden Shoot
27
DADAISM - READYMADES
Bottlerack, Marcel Duchamp, 1914
Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917
28
CREATION
J. M. W. Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844
29
SELECTION
Marcel Duchamp, In Advance of the Broken Arm, 1917
30
SPECIFICATION
ALL THE THINGS I KNOW BUT OF WHICH I AM NOT AT
THE MOMENT THINKING - 136PM JUNE 15, 1969
Robert Barry, 1969