ART & ORGANISM
What do we Value in Art?
All art has more-or-less meaning: my 3-year-old drew a precious example (a rainbow and a bird) that has hung on my refrigerator in a place of honor for over 20 years; A Chagall lithograph (“The Dream of Solomon”) is on a wall in my study.
What is the connection between MEANING and VALUE? Biologically, the existential meaning might be related to needs that are met: am I provided with important survival information? information directly or metaphorically important to the maturation or growth of any or all of my cognitive competencies in the world? My self-actualization and legacy? A growing network of connections? Spirituality … awe, wonder, rapture … the sublime.
Intrinsic value? invested value? what are the atrributes that we value … which of these are properties of the artifact itself, and which evoke a deeper sense of connectedness or a metaphoric power. AUTHENTICITY is dramatically illustrated by the power of attribution of artifacts to individuals that evoke a deeper sense of connectedness to people of great religious or political or social influence: is this splinter a piece of the true cross? did this tooth really come from a venerated saint? Did Babe Ruth really sign this baseball?
What is the lesson of The Man with the Golden Helmet?