Term Papers on What Is The Expression Theory Of Art

Term Paper Title	What Is The Expression Theory Of Art
# of Words	1531
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.12

What Is The Expression Theory Of Art

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence.  These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories.  During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular.  During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life.  It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music.  It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist.  Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole.  From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing one's self.  Every artist puts a piece of his or herself into their artwork.  Who really is to determine what that work of art was meant to express?
One might ask, "Since most artwork is used as a way for an artist to express him or herself, what makes this expression period anything special?"  On the general level "Expressionistic art, whether literature, painting, music, or cinema, often involves intense psychic disturbance and distortion in the perspective adopted by the artwork."  "It is remote from the objective or realistic portrayals of the world, as well as from the happier emotions."  To bring a more defined meaning to the overall theory of expressionism, two philosophers play a large role.  The first notarized expressionistic philosopher was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy who was followed by his counterpart R.G. Collingwood: a twentieth-century English philosopher.  Together they hold the two best known expositions of the expression theory.
What make these two analyzers important is not what they agreed on, but rather on how they contrasted.  They both conclude that during the expression theory, the main concern was to express emotion.  The one question that draws the two apart is "What does it mean to express an emotion?"  They attempt to conclude this question, by providing the answers to a few others.  What the nature of art is?  Why we make and appreciate art?  Why the arts are so valuable?
The best way to go about describing their thoughts is to state one of the thinkers discoveries followed by a thorough investigation of the second's, beginning with Leo Tolstoy.  He begins his argument by trying to decide what is the value of art?  How do we determine its value to the public, since art is a social aspect of life?  For Tolstoy, the value of art comes from the function art serves in society and in human historical development.  Art appears in everything that lives and should have the force to bring people together as a community.  For him expressionism in art is a means of communication, in such as a language.  Therefore, language can be described as a form of art under the theory of expressionism.  Speech transmits the thoughts and experiences of mankind, serving as a means of expression among them; art also acts in a similar manner by sharing emotions.  If people could not be affected by art, we would still be in the era of savagery.  Referring back to the author of our book, John Fisher, emotional communication is essential to art.  Fisher also states that too much harnessed emotion will tend to lower the value of art.
What can we define as art and what can we exclude?  For Tolstoy, a piece to be considered art must surpass a few requirements.  First, the piece of work must express deep and unique feeling and emotion.  Second, the artist must intentionally produce an external artwork, which transmits feeling and emotions to the audience.  Finally, the artwork must portray the same emotions that the author intended.  The only one of these that can fall short of being perfect, is the final one, for which in this case, the artwork is just considered unsuccessful.  Here the objective reality is the inner feelings of the artist to be communicated to the external receptor through the piece of art.  It all centralizes to emo...

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