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AAP 1.1 - Art As Imitation of Nature

The document discusses Aristotle and Nietzsche's views on art as imitation of nature. For Aristotle, art imitates nature by representing forms found in nature through images or artifacts, and the artistic process imitates nature's creative process. Nietzsche saw nature as inherently artistic in its productivity, and viewed art as transfiguring nature to perfect human existence. He associated the Apollonian impulse with imitative art resembling nature, and the Dionysian with ecstatic art that erodes boundaries between nature and humanity.

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265 views10 pages

AAP 1.1 - Art As Imitation of Nature

The document discusses Aristotle and Nietzsche's views on art as imitation of nature. For Aristotle, art imitates nature by representing forms found in nature through images or artifacts, and the artistic process imitates nature's creative process. Nietzsche saw nature as inherently artistic in its productivity, and viewed art as transfiguring nature to perfect human existence. He associated the Apollonian impulse with imitative art resembling nature, and the Dionysian with ecstatic art that erodes boundaries between nature and humanity.

Uploaded by

Anony Mous
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ART AS IMITATION OF

NATURE
Aristotle and Nietzsche
Art as imitation of nature

■ Refers both to art objects that represent something in nature and to the process by
which art objects come into being.
■ Art is the complement of nature.
Aristotle – “art as imitation of nature”

■ Aesthetic representation of a form of nature through an image or some other


artifactitious representation.
■ The process of art which is an imitation of the creative process of nature.
■ All art is imitative and productive. Something comes into being and it is distinct from
the artifact that is the product of imitating nature.
■ Nature is “a cause that operates for a purpose. Productive capacity and artistic
productivity – goal-directed.
■ Artistic production ■ Natural coming-into-being
It is not the form in the soul that is an Does not require knowledge of the
agent, but it is actually what the agent rules of production.
is.
→ The artist has the form of the artifact
in his soul. He has knowledge of the
material and formal causes needed to
bring the artifact into being.
■ The artist’s knowledge is a universal principle consisting of the rules of production
by which artifacts with similar form can be produced, but the form in the artist’s
mind is not the same as the form in the material that is produced.
■ Artistic knowledge is based on having the form of the artifact in the mind in such a
way that the artist knows what he desires to produce. - knowing the particular form
and understanding the artifact.
■ The artist knows in a specific manner why something works, and his experience of
detail enables him to provide an account of his artifact, giving evidence to his
knowledge.
■ Art imitates nature in the sense that art requires the realization of a form in a
material substratum that unfolds over time in accordance with formal and
teleological character.
■ The process by which natural forms come into being = formative process of an artist
who brings a work of art into existence.
■ Nature does not imitate art, but an account of nature often imitates the account of
artistic productivity.
ARTISTIC ACTIVITY = PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF NATURE
■ Imitation is natural to man from childhood.
■ Because we learn through them, we take delight in seeing images of things and
recognizing that they are imitative.
■ Artistic imitation requires that there is always sufficient difference between the
representation and the original to allow for knowledge and the mimetic pleasure
subsequent to it.
■ VISION OF ART AS PRODUCING IMAGES WHICH SERVE TO COMPLEMENT the natural
forms of the actual world.
Nietzsche – “every artist is an ‘imitator’

■ Attitudinal tendencies in Greek mythology – that of Apollo (a necessary illusion to serve life) or Dionysus
(ecstasy).
■ Reinterpretation of the second sense: a different mimetic process – contemplation vs. ecstasy and the
collapse of the psychic distance.
■ “Embodiments of art” through the figures of Apollo and Dionysus. Since art is an imitation of nature, any
opposition inherent in the works of art is derived from the fundamental opposition between the two basic
energies of nature.
■ Art is complementary to nature. Art is not discontinuous with nature; rather, “the metaphysical intention
of art is to transfigure” nature. Art perfects man’s existence through the transfiguring mirror.
■ Nietzche envisions nature in terms of its inherent artistic productivity, and his concept of wisdom is based
on nature’s productive capacity: “art is the highest task and the truly metaphysical activity of this life.”
■ The complementary character of artistic imitation can transform a vision of the horrible into one of
aesthetic delight. “Metaphysical comfort” – ugly, the dissonant, and the tragic, endurable one.
■ Apollinian artistic impulse
- Artist produces artifacts and images
that resemble nature.
- How this is produced is dependent
on the way nature produces forms.
- The artist reproduces images that
are like those perfections produced
in dream state.
- Imitative art
Source:https://www.britannica.com/topic/Apollo-Greek-mythology
■ Dionysian artistic impulse
- Exemplified in intoxication.
- Disruption of the limits of the interior
self because it is a state of being
outside the self.
- Erosion of the boundary between
nature and man.
- Artist has an ecstatic insight and
transforms himself as an imitation of
that state of ectsasy.
- Artist becomes a product of nature’s
impulses.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Dionysus/dionysus.html
Reflection

“Aristotle’s conception of art is a naturalistic conception of art whereas Nietzsche’s


theory of nature is an artistic conception of nature.”
* How does your favorite artwork reflect Aristotle’s conception of art?
* Does your favorite artwork fulfill the metaphysical intention of art to transfigure nature
or life? In what ways?

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