Essay on Innovation and Traditionalism in Art - 3376 Words

I am sure that we have all, at one time or another, noticed that almost any discussion concerning the merits and demerits of art, if it goes on long enough will come to the qualities of innovation and traditionalism in regards to aesthetic value. As soon as these two qualities are mentioned, there comes an inevitable forming up of those who favor innovation and deride tradition and those who favor tradition and deride innovation. Either side usually admits only enough merit to their opposition, and limitation of their own view, to make themselves seem reasonable and objective: but the bulk of their effort goes into savaging their opponents and extolling the ultimately ascendant nature of their position. I am inclined to take neither†¦show more content†¦For many people, the most damning denunciation they can make of a work of art is that it is, in some way, stale, antiquated, or outmoded. They will note how this feature has been borrowed, how that aspect has been done before , and how the entire work lacks freshness, originality, and creativeness. These sorts of people are not necessarily wrong for saying such things, but they are wrong for leaving their criticism at that, for it is simply not enough. What is implied in many of these people’s demands for freshness, originality and so on, though they would never say it explicitly, is a fascination with novelty. A few, if cornered, might defend a taste for novelty by saying that something, because it is novel, takes their aesthetic experience beyond where it had been before, and thereby expands their understanding of art and themselves. There is a grain of truth in this, but a second explanation seems more likely, and far more damning. If someone displays a taste for art which is novel, it indicates that art which preceded the novelty possessed only a passing transient value, and art which now seems novel will also, most likely, be passing and transient, for its only real attraction to this sort of person is that it is new, and, as we have seen, this will soon pass. However, many of us are inclined to believe that aesthetic values are something eternal,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Consuelo Vanderbilt s The Glitter And The Gold 1613 Words   |  7 Pagesclearly the influence of one of England’s closest neighbours. As for dinner, sometimes ortolans from France would be served. While influence from France played an important role in aspects of the country house that was not limited to their taste in art, another international influence came from parts of the English empire itself, such as when the more exotic quails from Egypt would also be brought in to hunt and eat. 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