Dave Thomas (dlt44@ipa.net)
Wed, 4 Feb 1998 19:51:15 +0100
Ciona
> What is the moral value of art? Would anyone be interested in pursuing this?
Assume by art you a referring to the capital "A" type as in Diana's prior posting:
> Art as in any endeavour taken to the level that it becomes an Art (note the capital
> "A").That can be anything - the Art of music or painting, but equally the Art
>of computer programming, basketball playing, hotel management. Pirsig's code
of Art is I think
>refering only to the second type and it's a synonym for dynamic quality; he
probably didn't want >to use the word Art because it is too easily confused
with art in its usual meaning.
Though in general I agree with her analysis my take is slightly different. As
a preface, Art is a topic very much like what Pirig said about defining
Quality. "Don't do it. You'll get into nothing but trouble. It's just going to
start a thousand dumb arguments..." One could infer from his mention of the
"Code of Art" that Art is synonymous with Dynamic Quality. Under MoQ the
source of all things is Dynamic Quality so Art also surely originates from
there. But IMO, Art is the attempt to capture, illustrate, freeze, recreate,
etc. if you will Dynamic Quality. As such it is very much as Pirsig said about
writing a metaphysics, "in the strictest mystic sense, a degenerate activity."
Why? Because it never truly succeeds. The close calls are the static patterns
we call "A"rt. The rest are at best little "a" art. Art degenerates in the
process of conversion from is dynamic source into a static pattern and in
doing so loses its higher quality. If this were not so the artist would stop
awe struck the first time Dynamic Quality was truly captured. It's the pursuit
of this allusive prey that keeps artists going.
Is art moral? In a MoQ sense, yes, because it can be one of the greatest
exercises of freedom a person can make. Just as writing a Metaphysics can lead
to electro-shock treatments, Art can lead one to lose an ear.
P.S. Doug's, Leye-Lah, is almost right for the South, but Lye-Lah is right up
there also.
Dave
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