An Essay in Aesthetics by Roger Fry
Aesthetics - the philosophical study of beauty and taste.
Moralist - a person who
teaches or promotes morality. (नैतिकतावादी)
Puritanical - people who are very strict in moral or
religious matters
Here in this essay, the writer has expressed his feelings for art. According to him, art is an expression of human's imaginative life. Art is free from our daily necessities. It doesn’t fulfill our daily needs but provides pleasures. We feel sensations (संवेदना, अनुभूति) in art. An artist expresses his/her imagination in art. Art brings out the imagination of the artist that matches with spectators' (दर्शकहरुको) feelings, therefore, art evokes feelings and emotions in their minds.
Graphic art (visual art), is an expression of imaginative life. It is not a copy of actual life, separated from actual life. He uses the example of children, who never copy what they see but use their own imagination to freely draw. In Actual life, there is responsive action. In art we have no such responsive action for example if we see a wild bull, we feel afraid and run away but in imagination, we can stare at it and observe for as long as we.
To the
pure moralist, art must represent ethical values and right action, otherwise, it
is useless. The Puritanical view is the life of the imagination is worse than the life of
sensual pleasure. The essayist disagrees with them. He is close to Ruskin a
moralist to whom imaginative life helps to promote morality and it is an
absolute necessity.
Roger now
speaks of religion. Religion is also a representation of imaginative life. A religiously
intelligent person cannot say that religion can impart complete moral knowledge.
In fact, religious experiences are said to be based on human nature and
spiritual ability.
He
thinks that pleasures derived from art are different and more fundamental than
merely sensual pleasure. It is not temporary and material. The feelings of an
imaginative life that an artist expresses in their art, are the same feelings,
emotions, and attachments spectators or viewers find when they observe it. Graphic art represents, more or less, mankind’s feelings and emotions. He says that
we can justify actual life by its relation to the imaginative and justify
nature by its likeness(similarity) to art.
The imaginative life of people can be different at different times and does not match up with
the overall moral standards of actual life. In the thirteenth
century, even though there were instances of barbarity and cruelty, the level of imagination and artistic expression was higher than today. The author recognizes that, while today humans’ moral level
and general humanity have improved, the level of imaginative life has declined.
At last, he says that imaginations that are in our control are desirable but imaginative life that we see in dreams and under the influence of drugs are undesirable. This desirability separates imaginative life from actual life. Art is the chief organ of the imaginative life. Art encourages and controls it. The imaginative life is distinguished by the great clearness of its perception, and the greater purity and freedom of its emotion.
Please read the original essay to get the correct information. A Summary cannot provide you full information or may misguide you.
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