Write A Letter To George Dickie Regarding His Proposal ✓ Solved

Write a letter to George Dickie regarding his own proposal

Write a letter to George Dickie regarding his own proposal -- the Institutional Theory of Art – or regarding any other assigned readings from An Introduction...about these writers or their topics. In your letter, describe to the author your personal responses to their text. Your letter should describe your responses and the reasons for them. The letter can take any form you like as long as it is a response to the reading you chose. You may write in any voice you like as long as it allows you to take the assignment seriously.

You are free to refer to actual artists and artworks, to (correctly!) use technical terminology from philosophy and other disciplines, and to make use of information you learned in classes in addition to this one. It is ok to refer to information that was not available to the author you are writing to and to assume your chosen author has the imagination to follow your discussion, as long as you make your assumptions clear. So, for example, you may refer to art and artists and historical events from periods after your chosen author's lifetime.

Be sure to give enough information so that your reader can tell which ideas or concepts you are talking about. You can use a hypothetical classmate as an approximate listener, i.e., what would another student in class need to know to identify the concept you have in mind and to understand your response?

If you need help getting started, consider addressing one of these questions: In what ways do you find the author's ideas are consistent with your own experiences of art? Are there ways you would modify the author's ideas? Do you have questions for the author you chose and why did they arise? Do you see revealing connections, directions, or conflicts within the author's ideas? Do you see connections between an author’s context and their thinking?

General Instructions for the Essays: Essays should be 3 – 4 double-space pages. Type all essays and use a normal margin and type. It is not necessary to write a very long essay, even for the best grade. On the other hand, if your essay is too short, you are probably staying too close to the surface. Are you sure you didn’t skip steps? Your answer will be graded on the basis of demonstrated understanding of the course materials, thoughtfulness, organization and clarity, and writing mechanics (for example, grammar, spelling, and sentence organization).

For short essays, the requirements for citations are relatively relaxed: if you refer to an artwork, be sure to give its full name and the artist's or author’s name. Give the source for all direct quotes and write the information in parentheses right after the quoted material. Thus, for quotes from Neill and Ridley, you can use this abbreviated form: Essay Author, “Essay Title”, The Philosophy of Art, page xyz. Similarly, “Dickie, Introduction, page xyz”, works for the book by George Dickie. Give the standard bibliographical information for any other sources you refer to or quote from including other textbooks (i.e., author, title, publisher, year of publication, and page number). FYI, this is much like the system that Philosophy journals use for book reviews.

Paper For Above Instructions

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

[City, State, Zip]

[Email]

[Date]

George Dickie

Department of Philosophy

[Institution Name]

[Institution Address]

[City, State, Zip]

Dear Mr. Dickie,

I am writing to you in regard to your seminal work on the Institutional Theory of Art as presented in your book, "An Introduction to Aesthetics". Your proposal that art must be a product of an institution’s endorsement resonated with my personal experiences and observations in the art world. It made me reflect on the transforming landscape of contemporary art exemplified by figures such as Banksy and the various institutions that now grapple with the notion of what constitutes art.

Your assertion that art cannot exist in a vacuum but requires recognition from a community has deepened my understanding of how subjective the experience and definition of art truly are. For instance, I often think of the infamous Banana duct-taped to a wall, which was sold at Art Basel Miami for $120,000. Critics scorned it, while others lauded it as a commentary on consumer culture. In this scenario, the institution, defined broadly, validated the piece by placing it in a high-profile exhibition context, thus rendering it 'art'. Your thesis leads me to ponder—can art ever really transcend institutional recognition?

I agree with your ideas, but I would modify them slightly. There seems to exist a spectrum where certain works, like those created by outsider artists, challenge this notion of institutional validation. The work of artists such as Henry Darger shows that art can emerge outside of recognized institutional frameworks. Darger’s surreal worlds, while outside societal recognition during his lifetime, display an inherent value and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of artistic expression. This brings me to a question: should we redefine the institutional context to include such works, or do we risk diluting the meaning of art itself?

Moreover, you eloquently discuss how art interacts with social contexts. This notion aligns with my observations on how historical events contextualize artistic movements. For example, feminist artists in the 1970s leveraged their art to comment on their societal position, creating movements that defied and questioned masculine-dominated power structures. Artists like Judy Chicago and her piece "The Dinner Party" serve as pivotal examples of how art can function as socio-political commentary—not merely as aesthetics sanctioned by institutions.

In conclusion, your exploration of the Institutional Theory of Art has sparked a plethora of thoughts within me. There is an undeniable connection between art and the institutions that uphold its legitimacy. However, as we continue to see the evolution of art forms, I believe it is crucial to expand our understanding of what constitutes 'institutional recognition'. I appreciate your contributions to the discourse on art, and I hope to delve deeper into these queries and reflections in the future.

Thank you for your time and your impactful work in the philosophy of art.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

References

  • Chicago, Judy. "The Dinner Party." 1979.
  • Darger, Henry. "The Story of the Vivian Girls." 1910-1970.
  • Dickie, George. "An Introduction to Aesthetics." 1997.
  • Neill, Alex, and Ridley, Aaron, eds. "The Philosophy of Art." 2001.
  • Twombly, Cy. "Leda and the Swan." 1962.
  • Banksy. "Love is in the Bin." 2018.
  • Lippard, Lucy R. "Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object." 1997.
  • Foster, Hal. "The Return of the Real." 1996.
  • Bishop, Claire. "Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship." 2012.
  • Haraway, Donna. "Situated Knowledges: The Science Studies Reader." 1995.

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