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UNIT VI

Lesson 11
Art and Philosophy:
Hedonism and Functionalism
Objectives:

After the session, the students must have:

• related the study of art to the field of philosophy;

• ascertained aesthetic functionalism and aesthetic hedonism;
• applied the theories to the analysis of art as a formula in the evaluation of
the merit or demerit of works of art;
• formulated a philosophical approach to Art Appreciation;
• evaluated and appreciated works of art that show the application of
Hedonism and Functionalism.

Materials:

Pen and paper, readings/articles

Duration: 3 hours

Key concepts and ideas:

Philosophy Hedonism Functionalism

Let’s ponder about these!

• Philosophy and art, in their respective nature, varies in the matter of

their subject and in the way their reflect, communicate, and express its
purpose. Art, like philosophy, depicts and illustrates man and the world, the
sense of man in himself, the sense of man in its relation to society or society
to man, and the interaction of man to man.

• The word hedonism is derived from the Greek word ‘hēdonē’ means pleasure.
Hedonism believes that pleasure is the only important and worthwhile thing in
the world, and that pain or displeasure is the primary cause of suffering and
has no significance in human life. Hedonism evokes agreeable sensation thus
applied to art, emphasizing the derivation of aesthetic pleasure. Aesthetic
Hedonism asserted that the fact that human beings “like” art, it is then
understood that aesthetic value is like an instrumental value of giving them
what they like.

• Aesthetic functionalism, in its general sense, determine the aesthetic value by

reducing it to its practical function. However, function and aesthetic value are
completely independent of each other. Aesthetic experience is principally
provided by the production of “pure art” or artworks such as paintings,
poems, plays and partitas while in architecture and industrial design, the

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purpose of creating objects is primarily intended to provide criteria of utility

and practical function.

References:

Spirkin, A. (n.d.). Chapter 1. Philosophy As A World-View And A Methodology.

Philosophy and Art, Dialectical Materialism. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/spirkin/works/dialectical-
materialism/ch01-s05.html

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Hedonism. First published Tue Apr 20,
2004; substantive revision Thu Oct 17, 2013. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hedonism/

Matthen, M and Weinstein, Z. (May 27, 2020). Aesthetic Hedonism. Retrieved on

August 18, 2020 at https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-
9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-
0223.xml#:~:text=Hedonism%20is%20the%20view%20that,extent%20that%2
0they%20produce%20pleasure.&text=AH%20starts%20from%20the%20fact,gi
ving%20them%20what%20they%20like.

Hansson, S.O.(n.d.). Aesthetic Functionalism. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at

https://contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=324

I. You can do this!

Study the following slides/figures and answer the subsequent questions.

Figure 1

1. What is Hedonism? (3 points)

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2. What is the influence of Hedonism to Art Appreciation? (5 points)

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Figure 2

3. Which is more pleasing to the eye based on Hedonism? Why? (5 points)

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Figure 3

Marilyn Monroe Audrey Hepburn

Retrieved from: Retrieved from:
https://www.poppicture.com/products/ https://fineartamerica.com/featured/au
marilyn-monroe-portrait-stretch- drey-hepburn--breakfast-eric-dee.html
canvas-24x36-by-famous-artist-haiyan

4. Who is more aesthetically beautiful? Justify your choice. (5 points)

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5. If an artwork evokes ugly sensation as opposed to beauty as being

pleasurable, is it still an art if you cannot appreciate it?
Elaborate your answer. (5 points)
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Figure 4

6. What is Functionalism? (3 points)

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7. What can you infer from the above image? (5 points)

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Figure 5

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8. What is the function of art? (3 points)

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Figure 6

9. How can we tell if Sistine Chapel Paintings have served its function? (5
points)
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Figure 7
Although sculpturally beautiful,
the Sydney Opera House was
widely criticized for its lack of
functionality as a performance
venue. Performers and
theatergoers said that the
acoustics were poor, and that
the theater did not have enough
performance or backstage
space.

https://www.thoughtco.com/sydney-
opera-house-architecture-jorn-utzon-
178451

Sydney Opera House

Retrieved from: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/earth/landmarks-world/sydney-opera-house/

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Figure 8 Figure 9

10. Is the Sydney Opera artistically beautiful? Why? (5 points)

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11. How about the function of Sydney Opera House? Is it functionally beautiful?
Why? (5 points)
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Hedonist Perspective

Figure 10 Nude paintings are an interesting subject because

they can be used to show off an artist’s
anatomical and technical skill, and to portray a
story and the beauty of a person’s anatomy.

Reference: https://medium.com/@1st_art_gallery/the-most-
beautiful-female-nude-paintings-c36d41c2295e

Functionalist Perspective

The female body is comprised of reproductive

systems of organs that are involved in the
production and transportation of sex hormones,
and supports the development of offspring during
pregnancy and infancy.

Reference: https://www.innerbody.com/image/repfov.html

Venus Anadyomene
by Anna Utopia Giordano
Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ingres_Jea
n_Auguste_Dominique,_Venus_Anadyomene,_Paris,
_Musee_du_Louvre_.jpg

12. Is the lady portrayed in the painting artistically beautiful? Why? (5 points)
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13. Is the lady portrayed in the painting functionally beautiful? Why? (5 points)
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II. Highlights of the Lesson

• In general sense, the true philosopher is like a creative poet. A

creative poet must have the ability of vast, perceptive, associative
thinking applied to understand integral images. In fact, one must only

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attain holistic creative aptitude if one develops to perceive and associate

reality in an aesthetic viewpoint.

• Aesthetic Hedonism asserted that the fact that human beings “like” art, it is
then understood that aesthetic value is like an instrumental value of giving
them what they like. On the contrary, some arts are complex and obscure to
understand and sometimes induce negative emotions. Aesthetic hedonists
deal with these barriers through with the delimitation of the scope of
aesthetic pleasure. According to Hume, valuing art must consider the
response of someone who has sufficient exposure to it and thus developed
‘taste’; only the pleasure that is taken in by subjects is the proof of
Hedonism. Immanuel Kant also proposes a special kind of pleasure as a
characteristic of aesthetic appreciation. According to him, ‘disinterest’ as the
opposite of “agreeability” of food and sex, is a low art, nevertheless, still a
form of pleasure.

• Functionalism in its battle against the philosophy of Hedonism in art, brought

a crucial issue that questions the value of each theory – if whether practical
function of an artwork is independent of aesthetics or if they are somehow
related to each other.

• In Architecture, this issue was justified as they asserted that their design
emphasizes function rather than aesthetic appearance. Though, designs
made were based on geometrical principles with consideration to pure
aesthetic value, it was more advantageous and attainable if it is based on
principles of functionality. However, aesthetic value can neither be reduced to
a practical function nor to be independent with it. The aesthetic value of an
art will be deemed unnecessary and irrelevant if it is confronted with its
function; and functionalism is not completely excluded from the range of
aesthetics because an art made with a purpose can still express and
represent values from aesthetics.

III. Analysis

Choose two of the three articles given below and answer the proceeding questions.

A. From Kantianism to Aesthetic Hedonism: Aesthetic Pleasure

Revised by Jennifer A. McMahon (Published online: 26 Mar 2017) (See
Appendix 11.1)

Questions:

1. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)

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2. What does the author say about Aesthetic Hedonism? (5 points)

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3. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)

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B. Aesthetic Functionalism by Sven Ove Hansson (See Appendix 11.2)

Questions:

1. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)

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2. What does the article/author say about Aesthetic Functionalism? (5 points)

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____________________________________________________________
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3. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)

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C. 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings by The Artist

(See Appendix 11.3)

Questions:

1. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)

____________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________

2. Do you agree about the mentioned functions of Art in the article? Why?
(3 points)

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3. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)

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IV. Application/Follow – up Activity:

Choose any of the following activities for each theory (1 – Hedonism, 1 –

Functionalism) and comply.

Submit your work on __________________________.

HEDONISM

Write an Essay/Position Paper. (

1. Choose for one artwork that you admired the most and explain the
reasons why it is beautiful to you and the specific emotions it evokes from
you. Write it on a ½ sheet of paper and send to our goggle classroom on
________________.

2. Write a 3-paragraph essay about the topics given below. Choose one
topic only andwWrite it on a ½ sheet of paper and send to our goggle
classroom on ________________.
3.
• Why Hedonism opens a door for Pornography?
• Nudity in Art: Aesthetic or Pornographic?

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Rubrics for rating your Essay/position paper

Component EXCELLENT SATISFACTORY UNSATISFACTORY

Points 5-4 3-2 1-0

Ideas/Contents Provides a thorough, accurate, and Provides minimal accurate and original Provides deficient and irrelevant ideas
original ideas as bases for the ideas as bases for the formation of and does not meet its justification and
formation of essay and justified the essay with enough justification of elaboration.
ideas sufficiently and effectively. ideas.

Organization of Provides clear and understandable Provides understandable order of The flow of ideas is fragmented and are
Ideas order of ideas in accordance to its ideas but ideas are a little disarranged not properly arranged according to its
significance and scope. with its significance and scope. significance and scope.

Presentation Provides a clean, succinct, and Provides a not much organized format The format is not organized and lengthy,
organized format of the essay. Quite of the essay and a bit lengthy. Not thus, it is confusing to read and follow.
easy to read and follow. quite easy to read and follow.

Writing Mechanics Consistently grammatically correct Few errors in spelling and grammar Utilizes poor spelling and grammar and
with rare misspellings and good are evident and just enough good word few good word choices.
choice of words. choices.

FUNCTIONALISM

1. Look/listen for an advertisement from different media (television, social

media, newspaper, magazine, radio etc.) and choose one. Determine its
function and analyze if it really delivers its function according to its visuals,
movement, sounds, and words. Write it on a ½ sheet of paper and send to
our goggle classroom on ________________.

4. Examine the structure of your house and its parts or rooms and evaluate
if their form or structure was built or made according to its functions.
Write it on a ½ sheet of paper and send to our goggle classroom on
________________.

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References:

Hansson, S.O.(n.d.). Aesthetic Functionalism. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at

https://contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=324

Matthen, M. and Weinstein, Z. (May 27, 2020). Aesthetic Hedonism. Retrieved on

August 18, 2020 at https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-
9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-
0223.xml#:~:text=Hedonism%20is%20the%20view%20that,extent%20that%2
0they%20produce%20pleasure.&text=AH%20starts%20from%20the%20fact,gi
ving%20them%20what%20they%20like

Orate, Allan. (n.d.) Lecture 5 – Art and Philosophy: Formalism, Functionalism, and
Hedonism [computer file]. Accessed on August 19, 2020.

Orate, Allan. (n.d.) Lecture 6 – Art and Philosophy: Hedonism, Action Theory, and
Institutional Theory [computer file]. Accessed on August 19, 2020.

Spirkin, A. (n.d.). Chapter 1. Philosophy As A World-View And A Methodology.

Philosophy and Art, Dialectical Materialism. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/spirkin/works/dialectical-
materialism/ch01-s05.html

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Hedonism. First published Tue Apr 20,
2004; substantive revision Thu Oct 17, 2013. Retrieved on August 18, 2020 at
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hedonism/

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APPENDIX 11.1

From Kantianism to Aesthetic Hedonism: Aesthetic Pleasure Revised

by Jennifer A. McMahon

No matter how unintuitive it might seem that aesthetic pleasure

should be the point where art and morality meet (in terms of philosophical
structure and import), this is a noteworthy possibility that has been overshadowed
by aestheticians’ more visible concerns. Here I briefly survey relevant strands in the
literature over the past century, before introducing themes covered in this inaugural
issue of Australasian Philosophical Review.

1. Clearing a Path

Early last century a concept of the pleasure of art was established, arguably
relying for authority on a dubious link to Kant. Originally labelled ‘disinterested
pleasure’, over the decades it went through many revisions and reconstruals
including ‘psychical distance’ [Bullough 1912], ‘the pleasure of aesthetic emotion’
[Bell 1914], and ‘aesthetic attitude’ [Stolnitz 1961]—all of which presented easy
targets, for those who connected such accounts to the elitism associated with
standard formalism [Dickie 1964].1

Today the point of contention has shifted from appropriate attitude to

objective aesthetic standards. The new disagreement is between those who find a
foundation for aesthetic value in the aesthetic experience afforded by an object and
those who fix it in the aesthetic qualities of the object [Shelley 2010]. Those in the
experience camp achieved advances in the understanding of aesthetic pleasure
[Levinson 1992]; but these advances were not applied to the appreciation of Kant's
aesthetics by theorists who persisted in using Kant as a foil for their aesthetic
cognitivism [Carlson 2002: 24–26]. According to the Kantian caricature, a defining
condition of disinterested pleasure is that aesthetic pleasure is an experience
unmediated by cognition. In response, and in spite of those advances in the
literature, pleasure is treated reluctantly if at all when the topic is aesthetic value.

2. From Kantianism to Aesthetic Hedonism

In contrast to the standard analytic tradition of aesthetics, others such as the

continental and feminist traditions treat philosophy of art as an opportunity to study
how our perceptual and cognitive categories evolve and become established
[Ranciere 2004; Battersby 2007: 193–204]. For example, based on
phenomenological accounts of perception a relation has been suggested between
aesthetic and moral judgment. In effect the idea is that in perceiving an object we
describe it, foregrounding some items or actions and backgrounding others. This
process amounts to attributing meaning to what we perceive, which then determines
how or whether the object described hooks into our moral motivation [Ross 2010].
On such accounts, pleasure is part of that hook—but this is a pleasure taken in
certain ideas that is learnt through interactions within one's community. It is a

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communal pleasure, in the sense that we can reasonably expect others in our
community to engage agreeably with the same ideas and to defend them using an
armoury of reasons (cf. Kant [Ak 5: 292]).

Kant explained this in terms of a certain sensus communis [Ak 5: 238–41,

293–97], through which reason operates to establish a shared basis for
communicability of feeling without the mediation of a concept. (So for Kant, the
reason–feeling dichotomy is avoided.) Aesthetic standards are objective, not because
of objective properties that an individual can name but in virtue of the three maxims
of the sensus communis that encompass autonomy and objectivity in reasoning and
judgment [Kant Ak: 294–296]. ‘Autonomy, as Kant understands it,’ writes Onora
O'Neill, ‘is not mere self-assertion or independence, but rather thinking or acting on
principles that defer to no ungrounded “authority”, hence on principles all can follow’
[1992: 299]. In the aesthetic case, however, they are principles that cannot be
named but only demonstrated. Moreover, an ungrounded authority here refers not
only to dogma or deference but also to idiosyncrasy or compulsion; so aesthetic
autonomy is a matter of a ‘liking’ and a valuing, for which we can be held
responsible. Kant treats the structure of aesthetic pleasure as universal but the ideas
(aesthetic and rational) that fill out the experience are established through
the sensus communis—and hence, inadvertently, through the kind of narratives that
we internalize in engaging with our communities [cf. McMahon 2014: 79–103]. So far
we lack any account in contemporary terms of how this is possible.

The mode of reception relevant to artworks can be subjective, and the

relevant experience might give us no knowledge of anything, without thereby
reducing reception to idiosyncratic impressions. Instead we can be oriented toward
ascribing certain shared meanings and significance to events in a process that
occasions the calibration of shared values. This is not a new avenue of enquiry (cf.
Gatens and Lloyd [1999]; McMahon [2014]); but it is yet to be given a structural
grounding compatible with contemporary theories of perception.

3. Pleasure Revisited

Mohan Matthen's ‘The Pleasure of Art’ is this issue's target article. In it he

shows the sophisticated ways we cognitively complex and culturally embedded
creatures learn to orientate ourselves in the world and toward each other. He claims
we do this by developing a compound nexus of belief, feeling, ideas, associations,
and nuance. Pleasure is the facilitator; but Matthen re-conceives the nature of
pleasure in the course of showing its facilitating role. The upshot is not only an
account of pleasure to explain the very possibility of an artworld and a receptive
public, but also an understanding of pleasure that undermines any polarization of
reason and feeling.

Matthen's account of pleasure explains the possibility of habituation, learning,

and subsequent action by the way one is hooked into the world through pleasure:
‘culturally informed pleasure learning’, as he calls it in his response to the
commentaries in this issue. In effect Matthen's version of aesthetic hedonism makes
communicability, along with the possibility of revision and convergence, a condition
of aesthetic pleasure. In his own words, he ‘demystifies aesthetic objectivity’.
Indeed, Matthen's account can be seen as a way of understanding what Kant would

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have meant if he had written this extract from the Third Critique in the present
theoretical context:

The universal communicability of a pleasure already includes in its concept

that this must not be a pleasure of enjoyment, from mere sensation, but one of
reflection; and thus aesthetic art, as beautiful art, is one that has the reflecting
power of judgment and not mere sensation as its standard. [Ak 5: 306]

Matthen's account provides a way of understanding how reason and principle

play a role in shaping what we take pleasure in. To do this he
distinguishes facilitating pleasures (f-pleasures) which are essentially those taken in
directed activity, and relief pleasures (r-pleasures) which are passive.

In their dominant themes the commentaries beautifully illustrate and expand

on the topics raised above. In some respects they also demonstrate how difficult it is
to remap the terrain of a debate, when its reference points are already so firmly
staked out. In any case, the commentaries provide Matthen with a further
opportunity to clarify his ideas, in his response at the end.

Several commentators focus on what they perceive as the undesirable

implications of grounding aesthetic or artistic value in pleasure. In this they may
exhibit some of the long-held assumptions about pleasure that Matthen attempts to
unwind. The crucial point is whether pleasure is always simply given, or whether, as
canvassed by Karl Ameriks, it can be something we cultivate and through which we
exercise agency. Neil Sinhababu suggests that it is desire that motivates, not
pleasure. Another concern, raised separately by Cynthia Freeland and Robert
Sinnerbrink, is whether acculturation of aesthetic pleasure, when critical rather than
coercive, can be understood in terms other than objective properties of the object.
Keren Gorodeisky argues this point in terms of causal direction: value is separate
from and prior to pleasure, even if we judge value through pleasure. A different
concern, expressed separately by Paul Guyer and Ryan Doran, is that aesthetic
pleasure is too intellectual by this account and excludes the free play of the
imagination and the many simple releases and resolutions that one can enjoy in
engaging with artworks.

The classic objection against treating pleasure as the defining response to art
is also raised. James Phillips’ comments suggest that defining art in terms of pleasure
wrongly presents art as preoccupied with sugar-coating reality. Similarly, Freeland
observes that tragedy, pain, and sharpened insight characterize our responses to
more substantial art. Gorodeisky notes, however, that this classic objection often
assumes a narrow conception of pleasure; and she praises Matthen for his more
inclusive account. In fact, Ammon Allred argues that Matthen's account explains how
negative responses can come to be part of a nexus of the kind of pleasure that
defines art—and how pleasure plays a critical role in shaping how we engage with
objects. Allred relates this to Kant's interest in aesthetic judgment: for Kant,
aesthetic judgment engages ‘a natural purposivity that expands the possibilities of
nature … [so that we are able to consider] almost anything, as having normative
significance’ [Allred: 63]. Jane Kneller sees an application of this aspect of Matthen's
account for the pleasure we take in nature, arguing that nature provides the best
opportunity for cultivating facilitating pleasures.

A great deal more could be said about such a wealth of commentary. Given
enough space I would engage in more cross analysis; but I leave this to another

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time. For now, suffice it to say that the commentaries prompt an intriguing response
from Matthen—and one that affirms and consolidates his direction toward aesthetic
hedonism.

Reference:

McMahon, J.(March 26, 2017). From Kantianism to Aesthetic Hedonism: Aesthetic

Pleasure Revised. Retrieved on August 19, 2020 at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24740500.2017.1296403?scroll=
top&needAccess=true

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APPENDIX 11.2

Aesthetic Functionalism
by Sven Ove Hansson

ABSTRACT

According to the strongest version of aesthetic functionalism, aesthetic value

is completely determined by and therefore reducible to practical function. According
to the opposite view, function and aesthetic value are completely independent of each
other. Both these views are shown to be untenable, and instead aesthetic dualism is
defended. By this, I mean that some aesthetic judgments that can legitimately be
made about an object refer to it under descriptions of its practical function, whereas
others refer to it, for instance, under descriptions of its physical appearance. Since
valuations of the former type are in most cases positively correlated with satisfaction
of functional requirements, this amounts to a defense of a radically weakened version
of aesthetic functionalism.

1. Introduction

In "pure art," artworks such as paintings, poems, plays and partitas are
produced with the sole purpose of providing aesthetic experiences. In architecture and
industrial design, objects are created with the intention to satisfy not only aesthetic
criteria but also, primarily, criteria of utility and practical function. This combination
gives rise to the crucial issue of how the two types of value relate to each other. Is
practical function independent of aesthetics or are they in some way connected?

This was a central issue in the functionalist movement in architecture and

design, one of the most influential artistic and cultural movements of the early
twentieth century. The term 'functionalism' is ambiguous, not least since the
functionalist movement contained diverse and partly contradictory artistic and social
tendencies. Modernist architects and designers had a difficult time fighting against
influential conservative enemies. They soon found that an efficient argumentative
strategy was to emphasize that their constructions were more functional than
traditional architecture and design. Hence, even if the architecture of a house was
largely based on geometrical principles (and thus on "pure" aesthetic considerations),
it was more expedient to represent it as based on principles of functionality. It is
important, therefore, to distinguish between functionalism as an historical movement
and the more limited "functionalist" viewpoint that the aesthetic properties of an object
depend on its functionality. Here we will be concerned with the latter, but statements
by members of the functionalist movement will be used to exemplify the positions
analyzed.

Functionalism in this sense is much older than the functionalist movement.

In Xenophon's Symposium, Critoboulus says that he can distinguish a beautiful object.

CRITOBOULUS: I know, at any rate, that a shield is beautiful, as well as a sword and
a spear.

SOCRATES: And how is it that, although none of these is similar to the other, they
are all beautiful?

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CRITOBOULUS: If, by Zeus, they've all been wrought with a view to the tasks for
which we acquire them, or if they've been well adapted by nature with a view to
the things we need, then these are beautiful.

The most famous slogan of the functionalist movement was "form follows
function," whose originator was the American architect Louis Sullivan. When
introducing it, he made an analogy with the forms and functions one can find in nature.
The form of the eagle's wing has been determined by its function, and the same applies
to other objects in nature. "[F]orm ever follows function. This is the law. Shall we,
then, daily violate this law in our art?"

2. The Reduction Thesis

The most far-reaching variant of functionalism can be called the "reduction

thesis." It consists in the claim that there is nothing to aesthetics (beauty) in addition
to what follows from function. This has also been called "austere functionalism;" it
implies that aesthetic considerations are altogether unnecessary, since aesthetics will
be automatically taken care of if function is dealt with adequately. This view was
expressed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld in an article published in 1937. He described how he
had developed a new lemon squeezer by carefully trying out different forms in his
"artistic laboratory" until the most functional construction was found. This construction
was then selected for mass production. The experiments performed on lemon
squeezers were in his view an aesthetic activity. "Being useful also means being
beautiful."

An even clearer statement of the reduction thesis was made by Herbert Read in
1941:

"We have produced a chair which is strong and comfortable, but is it a work of
art?

"The answer, according to my philosophy of art, is Yes. If an object is made

of appropriate materials to an appropriate design and perfectly fulfils its function,
then we need not worry anymore about its aesthetic value: it is automatically a work
of art. Fitness for function is the modern definition of the eternal quality we call
beauty, and this fitness for function is the inevitable result of an economy directed
to use and not to profit."

The reduction thesis may be appealingly simple, but it is fraught with

difficulties. To begin with, it has problems in dealing with pure art. Consider two
objects that are both made by the same glass-blower. One is a vase that is used to
keep flowers in, and the other an artwork called "pillar" that cannot be used as a vase
since it has a hole in its bottom. It so happens that the two objects are strikingly similar
to each other. According to the reduction thesis, the aesthetic properties of the vase
are entirely determined by its function as a vase. The "pillar," however, has no function
(or rather, no function that is prior to and independent of its aesthetic properties).
Therefore its aesthetic properties cannot be derived in the same way as those of the
vase. According to ordinary aesthetic intuitions, there is much in common between the
aesthetic criteria that we apply to the vase and those that we apply to the "pillar." A
line that we find graceful or elegant in one of them would probably be found to have
the same property in the other. The reduction thesis makes it difficult to account for
this, since it subsumes the aesthetic properties of the vase under its function, that is
not at all shared by the "pillar."

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Another problem for the reduction thesis is that practical function

underdetermines form or, in other words, that objects that differ widely in their
physical appearance can realize one and the same practical function with equal
efficiency. Two soup-plates may be equally useful (functional) but yet look very
different. According to the reduction thesis, they must then satisfy aesthetic demands
to the same degree, which is implausible to say the least.

Finally, it is not difficult to find examples of objects that satisfy functionality to a high
degree but yet would not be taken to possess beauty or other positive aesthetic
qualities. Medical intubation devices are an example of this. In
Xenophon's Symposium, mentioned above, Socrates ridiculed Critoboulus's
functionalist account of beauty by showing how it implied that Socrates himself
was an unusually beautiful person: his protruding eyes were better for seeing to
the side and his thick lips were better for kissing than those of other people.

3. The Independence Thesis

Having found the reduction thesis untenable we can now turn to its opposite,
that may be called the "independence thesis." According to this standpoint, aesthetic
and practical values are completely independent of each other. This view was
expressed very clearly by Immanuel Kant. Since aesthetic formalism requires the
exclusion of practical value from aesthetic considerations, it implies the independence
thesis. On the other hand, the independence thesis does not exclude, for instance,
expressive and representational values from aesthetics, and therefore it does not imply
aesthetic formalism.

In the early twentieth century, the independence thesis was defended by

Hermann Muthesius in his attacks on the functionalist movement. Muthesius noted
that the functionalist ideas coincided with "the artistic discovery of the works of
engineers, in which a particular form of beauty was suddenly found, the 'beauty of
purely useful form' as it was called." This he considered to be a fallacy. Engineering
aimed at producing functional objects, and that activity did not in itself give rise to
beauty.

"It is a mistaken idea to believe that it is fully sufficient for an engineer to

see to it that that the house, instrument, or machine that he is constructing satisfies
a purpose. It is even more mistaken to believe in the saying, so often heard
nowadays, that if it fulfills a purpose then it is also beautiful. Usefulness as such has
nothing to do with beauty. Beauty is a matter of form and nothing else, usefulness
is purely the matter of being serviceable."

However, Muthesius was also eager to point out that beauty and function are
not contradictory; it is possible to combine the two. He even claimed that engineers
who deny having any artistic ambitions in their work may nevertheless be
unconsciously, instinctively, influenced by aesthetic criteria.

"It can however be assumed that even the engineer who claims not to aim
at a pleasing design will be unconsciously influenced by the formal [= aesthetic] laws.
He is after all a man like others. . . This is why there are beautiful civil engineering
works, in addition to the ugly ones. The beautiful constructions have been made by
engineers with taste, the ugly ones by engineers without taste."

In more recent aesthetic discussions, the independence thesis has not often
been expressed. The same applies to the reduction thesis. Apparently, although the

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relation between aesthetic value and practical function is no less important today than
in the heyday of the functionalist movement, theorizing has mostly gone in other
directions. However, in a discussion of the aesthetic appreciation of sport, David Best
claimed that non-aesthetic purpose is irrelevant for aesthetic appreciation.

It is not difficult to use examples to show how the independence thesis goes
too far in the direction opposite to that of the reduction thesis. Perhaps the clearest
counterexamples are those that refer to the beauty of abstract objects, such as
mathematical proofs. A mathematician who called a proof beautiful would almost
certainly retract or at least moderate that statement if the proof turned out to contain
irreparable mistakes. Similarly, someone who admires the beauty of a scientific
experiment does this under the presumption that it actually works. When a computer
program is called beautiful, this is usually because of its power to accomplish a lot with
surprisingly small means. This type of beauty was called "machine beauty" by David
Gelernter.

Examples can also easily be found that refer to concrete, technological

objects. Few of us would admire the beauty of a bicycle with oval wheels or a chair
that falls apart if one sits on it. Or rather, if we appreciate them aesthetically, then we
appreciate them as non-functional works of art, not as a bicycle or chair. When we
judge a chair aesthetically, we typically make assessments of it that relate to its
function as a chair. That an object is, for instance, a "beautiful chair" does not only
mean that it is both beautiful and a chair. It means that it is beautiful as a chair.

4. The Thesis of Aesthetic Duality

This leads us to an intermediate standpoint between the reduction and the

independence theses: When an object has a purpose or practical function, then some
but not necessarily all the aesthetic judgments that can legitimately be made about
the object refer to that function. We do not need to require, and will not require, that
this categorization of the aesthetic judgments be known by the agent. An agent with
a high capability of introspective aesthetic reflection may, at least in principle, be able
to distinguish between the two types of judgments by bracketing her knowledge of
the object's practical function and judging it as a pure object of art. Other agents may
not be able to do this, but can nevertheless be said to make both types of judgment.

The distinction between the two types of aesthetic judgment can be further
clarified with the help of the theory of the dual nature of technological objects that
has been developed by the philosophers of technology, Peter Kroes and Anthonie
Meijers. They have shown that technological objects can be described in two ways.
First, they can be described as physical objects (such and such an object of copper
adjacent to such and such an object of polyethylene, etc.). Second, they can be
described as functional objects with practical functions assigned to them by the
humans who constructed them (nail, screwdriver, car, etc.). The implication for
aesthetics is that aesthetic appraisals of such an object can refer to it either under a
description of its physical appearance or under a description of its practical function.
For a fully general account, other types of descriptions such as those indicating
expressive or representational properties should be included, so that the final
distinction will be between descriptions of the object that refer to its practical function
and descriptions that refer to its other properties. The latter category includes
descriptions of the object's physical, expressive and representational properties.

This distinction should not be treated as one between functional and non-
functional properties. The reason for this is that non-practical functions of an object

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can be aesthetically relevant. The representational properties, for instance, of a

portrait can be described in terms of its representational function. Indeed, art can in
general be characterized by its function to provide aesthetic satisfaction. According to
this approach, pure aesthetic judgments differ from judgments of practical function by
referring to another type of function, namely aesthetic function. Currently, aesthetic
functions are under debate from at least two points of view: whether works of art have
aesthetic functions and whether the notion of art can be defined in terms of such
functions. However, neither of these issues seems to have any direct bearing on the
relation between practical function and aesthetic value. These are separate issues. For
our present purposes, we can leave the issues concerning aesthetic function open.

It should now be clear why our aesthetic appraisal of a chair depends on our
knowledge that it is a chair: we make aesthetic appraisals of it as an object with a
practical function. However, it can also be seen from the above example with the vase
and the pillar that an object with a practical function can have aesthetic properties
that do not refer to its practical function. We can call this the aesthetic duality of
objects with practical function.

This thesis of aesthetic duality, as we have presented it, allows practical

function to influence aesthetic value but says nothing about the nature of that
influence. A further thesis will therefore be added: the contributory thesis. It holds
that aesthetic valuations that refer to a practical function are in most cases positively
correlated with satisfaction of that function. Hence, if two nutcrackers are equally nice
to look at for someone who does not know what they are meant for, but only one of
them is practically useful whereas the other breaks before the nut, then the former is
aesthetically the most satisfying one. In this case and many others like it, the part of
the aesthetic judgment that concerns practical function includes reference to the
object from a dynamic point of view, i.e., to its movements when used for its intended
practical purpose. The other part of the aesthetic judgment is, in typical cases, more
focused on the object's static, or statuesque, properties.

The contributory thesis is not without exceptions. It holds true for objects
with practical functions that are morally accepted, but not in general for objects with
immoral practical functions. In other words, the satisfaction of immoral functional
requirements does not necessarily add to an object's aesthetic value. A person who
admires what she believes to be a surgical instrument may very well cease to see any
beauty in it upon learning that it is in fact an unusually efficient instrument of torture.
This is parallel to a well-known problem in the representational arts. To the extent that
we aesthetically appreciate Leni Riefenstahl's (1902-2003) Nazi propaganda
film Triumph of the Will (1935), this is a more guarded and restricted appreciation
than our appreciation of a film with a less abhorrent message. Several accounts have
been given of the dependence of aesthetics on ethics that is exhibited in cases like
this. One plausible component of such explanations is that the message is so integrated
in Riefenstahl's film that no judgment of the film, aesthetic or otherwise, can disregard
it or abstract from it. Similarly, once we know the intended use of a torture instrument,
it is part of what our aesthetic judgment of the instrument refers to. Our negative
ethical appraisal of Riefenstahl's message, or of the intended use of the instrument,
seems to block the formation of any unconditional aesthetic appraisal. The nature of
this blockage is far from clear and deserves further study.

Aesthetic dualism, as outlined here, has an obvious similarity to Kant's

distinction between free and dependent beauty. The latter notion is notoriously difficult
to interpret. Some modern interpretations treat dependent beauty as a limited variant

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of free (pure) beauty; hence, according to one such account, our appreciation of a
beautiful spoon differs from how we appreciate a beautiful statue: In the former case
we appreciate the extra skill required in producing an aesthetically appealing object
when it must at the same time have a specific non-aesthetic function. These limitations
can force the artist to be more creative, and our knowledge of them may therefore
enhance our appreciation of the object. (This is not unlike the restriction on
representational art that it has to resemble a given object or represent it in some other
way) Our thesis of aesthetic duality differs from this interpretation of Kant's distinction,
since the latter seems to preclude simultaneous appreciation of one and the same
object in both ways. It may conform with other interpretations of Kant's distinction.

5. Conclusion

In summary, we have rejected two theses about the relationship between

aesthetics and practical function, namely the reduction and independence theses.
Aesthetic value is neither fully reducible to practical function nor completely
independent of it. Instead we have defended a thesis of aesthetic duality, according
to which objects with practical functions can be aesthetically appraised both under
descriptions that refer to these practical functions and under descriptions not doing
so. Finally, we have defended the contributory thesis according to which satisfaction
of functional requirements in most cases contributes positively to aesthetic value.
Hence, some support can be found for aesthetic functionalism, but only for a very
weak form of it.

Reference:

Hansson, S.O. (n.d.) Aesthetic Functionalism. Retrieved on August 19, 2020 at

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/ca/7523862.0003.008/--aesthetic
functionalism?rgn=main;view=fulltext

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APPENDIX 11.3

25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings

by The Artist

The definition of art remains controversial and multifarious, but the

diverse functions of art get better once you allow your conscience to absorb and
understand diverse perspectives that art offers.

The purposes, motivations, intentions, and inspirations behind the art are
endless.

Being one of the most creative ways of expressing human experience, we

have used art as a means of telling stories.

May it be the story of a single person, of a community, or of a nation, art has

in many ways contributed to the beautiful way these stories are told.

We’ve put together a list of 25 functions of art based on the viewpoints from
renowned artists and philosophers for you to reflect upon.

1. Art as an Expression

“Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one person consciously, by certain
external signs, conveys to others feelings he has experienced, and other people are
affected by these feelings and live them over in themselves.” – Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s famous “Expression Theory” centered on the idea that art elicits and
provokes emotion in the viewer.

Out of many styles of expression, Abstract Expressionism is one great

example where artists are empowered with the liberty to convey attitudes and
emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means.

The prominent function of art always drawn toward the expression theory.

Artists like Jackson Pollock believed that it was the viewer (and not the artist)
who defines and interprets the meaning of the abstract expressionist artwork thus,
there is no relevance on what the artist thinks or conveys while producing the work.

Convergence by Jackson Pollock is one of the initial art pieces of abstract

expressionism and considered as the bravest action paintings ever made

The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings
rather than illustrating” – Jackson Pollock

2. Art empowers our faith in the nobility of man (Humanism)

“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to
understand” – Pablo Picasso

One of the most powerful shifts resulted from the Renaissance period is that
the Church was never a responsible source for their behavior and beliefs towards
God and fellow men and that they themselves are responsible for the actions. One of

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the key aspects of what makes us human is revolving around our faith in religion,
art, and culture

The School of Athens by Raphael remains one of the powerful representation

of this shift in human history and also embodies the classical spirit of Renaissance

3. The creation of beauty is art

“Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

When it comes to art, some may say that not all art is beautiful, that, in fact,
it should not be beautiful, always.

Beauty is what you make of it, what your preference is, what calls to your
heart, soul, and mind.

What is beauty in art? – Beauty is what we see as characteristic and

harmonious.

Whatever different reactions art will about inside you, it is clear that the
explanation is complicated and definitive.

Every piece of art, whether a painting, a vase or a statue, will have different
colors, lines, and textures that will appeal to your soul and heart.

4. Know Thyself

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art.’ Creative with strategy is called advertising”
– Jef Richards, educator

Art is a form of expressing oneself.

Consciously or unconsciously artists are following Socrates’ command – Know

thyself.

During this process, artists are exploring their subject, medium, and material,
rebalancing the spiritual value of those elements, thereby experiencing the subtle
preciousness of their awareness.

This interaction is beautiful which in fact leads to the inevitable desire for
outward expression.

Art is born here.

5. Art is freedom in every sense

“Art is meant to disturb. Science reassures” – Georges Braque, painter

One decides to express the imagination is brave. The value of freedom in

our creative expression cannot be overstated.

What about aestheticizing violence? What about creating art in gigantic

forms?

What about choosing topics that are controversial? Different expressive media
have a tendency to attract different personalities.

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Phillipe Perrin, known for his huge artworks revolving around the subjects of
evil and crime, chooses subjects that have the power to instill immediate shock and
presents them in a bold way that ensures they do.

One of Perrin’s famous works, Bloodymary, blends the line between theatre,
sculpture, and performance art through the lens of murder.

The artist uses unconventional medium and subject to place the viewer face
to face with images inexorably tied to modern violence, subtly aestheticizing the
violence in art.

The true meaning of art can be multifarious, but the purpose of art is met
when such artists like Perrin uses art in innovative and unconventional ways.

6. Art sends strong messages from the sidewalk to the world at large

“Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint” – Bansky

Street art has proven itself to be a truly expressive art form.

It is not an inferior form of political outcry nor is it the indifferent rebellion of

disaffected youth.

Street art thinks, feels, and evokes thoughts and emotions in the people that
view it with an open mind.

Using iconic imagery that is often recognizable regardless of language, the

street artist is able to speak his opinions and solutions to a global audience, making
this a rapidly advancing form of art the world over.

7. Art is the most intense mode of individualism

“Art is either plagiarism or revolution” – Paul Gauguin, painter

Famous artist Paul Gauguin once written – “One must always feel the plane,
the wall; tapestries need no perspective”

Paul Gauguin’s art, style, and legacy reflected strongly in his artworks and
often dismantled the traditional perspectives of art.

Gauguin was once of a few ordinary men that were able to leave mundane
life to realize and fulfill a dream – to become an artist.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul
Gauguin is a great example of individualism where Gauguin said to read from right to
left instead of from left to right – which in fact provides an entirely different
perspective to the reader, which itself shows the true power and meaning of art

8. Art shifts realism into reality

“Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something;
it looks like the thing itself.” – Roy Lichtenstein

We’re living in a time where our beliefs and messages must be braver and
rendered more boldly than ever before.

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Popular culture was shrouding everything in the 1950’s and 60’s in America,
and maintaining the status quo became more important than ever.

The power of pop art has been emerging since then and continuously
breaking all conformist perspectives and definitions of art

Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as
in Pollock’s drops of paint.

Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality.

9. Great art tells meaningful stories

“Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.” Paul Klee, artist

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau – One of the most perceptible modern
pieces of art, currently resides in MoMA Newyork, has been considered as one of the
many inspiring works by poets and musicians and also frequently parodied.

In this masterpiece, both, lion and woman display a calm demeanor on this
artwork, but actually, both are on the alert warning that the trust between two
worlds may get violated anytime.

10. Art validates our sorrows

“Art grows from joy and sorrow, but mostly from sorrow. It grows from human lives”
– Edvard Munch

Art helps us see that sorrow can be beautiful and noble and still be one
aspect of a good life.

Art also helps us to suffer alone without the input of society so that we can
show a dignified face to the world in our public sorrow.

The true meaning of art lies in the emotion, considering sorrow is one
prominent expression that we embody, art always validates our sorrows. “They
thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t.

I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” said Frida Kahlo, a great
artist who infused her canvas with her native Mexican birthright and the historical
epochs of her life.

11. Art is a personal act of courage

“Art is a personal act of courage” – Seth Godin

Courage is more important than creativity. Great art comes from the heart,
doesn’t come from doing what you’re told. The mesmerizing charm of a great work
of art doesn’t come from what is painted on the canvas. Rather, it comes from what
was in the artist’s heart while he was painting. Franz Krueger’s The Parade auf
Opernplatzis a great example of that. Krueger shows us that true art can be created
only through courage, the strength of character, and determination. The meaning of
art implies a personal and open proliferation of your thoughts.

12. Art is the signature of civilizations

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“Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of
the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Humanity advances on the great foundations built by ancestors. We

transform the heritage of the past, learn the social aspects, identify new
opportunities and invent new ways of life. In this journey, the past lives remain as a
reference point as a subtle guide to build great things in this modern world.

At Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, you will be amazed by the galleries

of “The art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia”
section, where you will experience some of the finest masterpieces from the Islamic
world, moreover enables you to understand the artistic and scientific heritage of an
entire civilization. Rightly said by Roger Seruton, the culture of civilization is the art
and literature through which it rises to the consciousness of itself and defines the
vision of the world – after all the definition of culture derives from greater
civilizations

13. Art embodies power and of color

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment” – Claude Monet

Colors are powerful. Doesn’t matter what you might be creating now – a
painting, or a powerpoint presentation, or an illustration – your eyes must be
straying over a palette, splashed with many colors, choosing the right one to add to
your work. To a sensitive soul, the impact of a perfect color combination is deeper
and intensely moving.

Visual art always played an important role for artists to convey the life, lustre,
and power of life through colors

14. Art is Attitude

“Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics”- Victor Pinchuk

Art has taken a different dimension to think, feel and evoke thoughts in the
people that view it with an open mind. Art represents the attitude either of an artist
or of a belief system. Street art is often considered as vandalism, but it is
executed with purpose, design, technique and intention. Street art heightens our
experience of the visual landscape outside museum walls.

15. Art is the highest form of hope

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard, artist

Art can move us to tears. Beautiful art can bring tears of joy when we see a
painting, sculpture or photograph of people or creatures experiencing things we
want to experience. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages
us to hope for the same thing for ourselves.

Mutiny of Colours, A Project of Love, Peace, and Unity by Iranian Street

Artists is one great example. The powerful messages of peace, love, and hope in a
country torn apart by internal conflicts are represented by Iranian street artists
through their art, and mostly these works grow in all endless direction, both
metaphorically, conceptually and physically.

16. Art is about two things – Life and Death

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“The goal of all life is death” – Sigmund Freud

Many artists have used death as a theme for art.

By giving death as a central theme, artists force us to confront the reality of

birth and death within the same frame. Hope II by Gustav Klimt is one great art –
represents a pregnant woman and the weight of hope the protagonist carried in her
womb. The function of art lies around the diverse perspectives of life and death

Birth and death exist side-by-side, suspended in equilibrium, collaborators in

the appetite of living.

17. Art rebalances our life

“Art is like soup. There will be some vegetables you don’t like but as long as you get
some soup down you it doesn’t matter.” George Wyllie, Sculptor

Viewing art that depicts situations and feelings outside of what we normally
experience on a daily basis helps us attain balance in our emotions by filling those
voids.

We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and

appreciate things we don’t normally see and our responses to them.

18. Art can be surreal

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos” – Stephen Sondheim

Surrealism – a philosophical and artistic movement that explored the

unconscious mind – reveals human emotions and desires in an irrational, powerful,
poetic and revolutionary way. The concept has a greater relevance considering it
brought out the repressed inner worlds of sexuality, violence, dream, and desire.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali shows us a few seemingly soft or

melted pocket watches lying about in open land. Dali’s message was to show that
time and space are relative and that we, in fact, live in a universe of complete
disorder.

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

19. Art is You

“Art is anything you can get away with”- Andy Warhol

Art helps us to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We have an
‘aha’ moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly captures a feeling or thought
we have had that we couldn’t express. When this happens, we have gained a piece
of new knowledge through the art that we can now communicate to ourselves and to
others.

This why the best possible function of art operates via YOU.

20. Art is discovery and exploration

“Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful

forms suitable for human use”- Frank Lloyd Wright

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Is it not more remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to

produce a work of art with an organic honesty that might have been wiped out by
years of training in established structures, conventions, and accepted wisdom?

One such unlikely place was a tax collector’s office in Paris, and its unlikely
talent came in the form of a Lavalborn son of a plumber named Henri Rousseau. The
majority of Rousseau’s life is somewhat cloudy, and with good reason—it is wholly
unexceptional.

The Snake Charmer by Henri Rousseau is a dreamlike depiction of mysterious

human and animal forms in a jungle scene. This work is a testament to the attention
Rousseau received from prominent artists during his time.

21. Art empowers the heart of people

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

When activists are showing images of children suffering from poverty or

oppression in their campaigns, this is the art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite
and powerful to make changes. Such moments – using art to raise awareness – truly
validate the existence and definition of art

When photographers publish the photos of war-torn areas, it catches the

attention of masses whose hearts reach out for those who need help. When the
artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people around the world. This is
art, making a difference in society.

22. Culture is a great friend of art

“Art speaks the soul of its culture” – Abby Willowroot

Art is also a remarkable mode of depicting culture from all over the world, art
and culture complement each other very well.

When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know that it’s a
practice that originated from China. When you see paper swans swarming a beautiful
wedding ceremony, you know that this is origami, an art that came from Japan.
When you see films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a
movie from India.

Destinations like Newyork, Berlin, Prague, Sao Paulo, UAE, etc. are on a helm
of cultural revolution to uplift their cities with art, design, and imagination – after
all culture is the collective term for human behaviors

23. Art is activism

“Art resides in the quality of doing, the process is not magic.” – Charles Eames

Art has been used many times to represent the isolation, claustrophobia, and
anxiety of our society due to the tough political times that we’re living at present.
Tetsuya Ishida, a Japanese artist, portrayed the Japanese life about the social,
economic and academic educational structures. Many of his works exposed the
Japanese people’s trials in trying to acclimate to the changes involving social and
technological contemporary life. Read – Tetsuya Ishida – Saving the World With A
Brushstroke

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Similarly, a lot of street art has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-
establishment hint in it. The very mediums it uses, owned by states or corporations,
are protected by law from the artist but are used without regard or in spite of it.
That illegality is often a part of the message

24. Art is harmony

“Art is harmony” – George Seaurat

The power of art lies neither in the image nor the emotions it arouses in the
viewer, rather its greatness is derived from understanding the creative forces which
inspired the masterpiece. Harmony is a subjective concept, rather it emerges within
a context that many factors come together. Goya’s black paintings series is a great
example that proves this theory. Today, although we are exposed to images of gore,
misery, and grief, much of it is sanitized and censored. Goya, on the other hand,
unabashedly captures human trauma and sorrow in the paint.

25. Art as Therapy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”- Thomas
Merton

In the famous book Art as Therapy, the authors have outlined seven
functions of art and explain how art helps us grow and evolve in our understanding
of ourselves, each other, and the world we live in. Taking your time to mindfully
observe artwork can be of true value to your emotional well-being.

Conclusion: The functions of art remain incomprehensible

‘What is art?’— one question continuously steers educators, performers,

practitioners, and philosophers to engage in deep analysis. But no matter what the
function of art may be, the experience it delivers finally matters, and probably one
reason it has been around us for as long as humans have existed. Whether or not we
are aware of it, we allow art to affect our lives one way or another.

You may not know it, but your daily existence can be much more colorful
with the presence and influence of art, and it only gets better once you allow your
own creativity and imagination to take a turn for good.

So go ahead and open yourself up to art. It will be worth the change.

Reference:

The Artist. (n.d.). 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings. Retrieved
on August 19, 2020 at https://www.theartist.me/art/what-are-the-functions-of-
art/

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ANSWER SHEET

NAME:__________________________________ YEAR & SECTION:__________________

LESSON NO. & TITLE: _______________________________________________________
DATE: ___________________________________ SCORE:_______

1) What is Hedonism? (3 points)

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2) What is the influence of Hedonism to Art Appreciation? (5 points)

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3) Which is more pleasing to the eye based on Hedonism (refer to Figure 2)? Why?
(5 points)
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4) Who is more aesthetically beautiful? (refer to Figure 3) Justify your choice. (5

points)
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5) If an artwork evokes ugly sensation as opposed to beauty as being pleasurable,

is it still an art if you cannot appreciate it?
Elaborate your answer. (5 points)
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6) What is Functionalism? (3 points)

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7) What can you infer from the above image? (refer to Figure 4) (5 points)
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8) What is the function of art? (3 points)

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9) How can we tell if Sistine Chapel Paintings have served its function? (refer to
Figure 6) (5 points)
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10) Is the Sydney Opera artistically beautiful? Why? (refer to Figure 7) (5 points)
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11) How about the function of Sydney Opera House? Is it functionally beautiful?
Why? (refer to Figures 8-9) (5 points)
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12) Is the lady portrayed in the painting artistically beautiful? Why? (refer to
Figure 10) (5 points)

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13) Is the lady portrayed in the painting functionally beautiful? Why? (refer to
Figure 10) (5 points)
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14) Choose two of the three articles given below and answer the proceeding
questions.

D. From Kantianism to Aesthetic Hedonism: Aesthetic Pleasure

Revised by Jennifer A. McMahon (Published online: 26 Mar 2017) (See
Appendix 10.1)
i. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)
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ii. What does the author say about Aesthetic Hedonism? (5 points)
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iii. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)
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E. Aesthetic Functionalism by Sven Ove Hansson (See Appendix 10.2)

i. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)

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ii. What does the article/author say about Aesthetic Functionalism? (5 points)
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iii. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)
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____________________________________________________________
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F. 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings by The Artist

(See Appendix 10.3)

i. What is the article about? State it briefly. (3 points)

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ii. Do you agree about the mentioned functions of Art in the article? Why?
(3 points)

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iii. What can you infer from the article? (10 points)

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