FERRARA, CHAPTER 5, “HEIDEGGER’S PHILOSOPHY OF ART.”

FERRARA, CHAPTER 5, “HEIDEGGER’S PHILOSOPHY OF ART.”

In this section, I was drawn to several parts of the reading. I want to begin with the definition of the word “art,” which, in “The Origin of the Work of Art,” is said to be the origin of the artist who created the work. A piece of art, whether it is music, visual, sculpture, etc., is the origin of the artist, and the artist is also the origin of the work. I found this definition quite perplexing and deep. Now, where do we classify “art,” which has a ‘thingy’ element attached to it? Heidegger elaborates on three types of beings: Ready-to-hand, present-to-hand, and Dasein. The first category refers to the gadgets we use, or the equipment that is present in our everyday lives. The Present-to-hand category refers to things we classify as random ‘junk’ around us. The third category, Dasein, refers to the human existence. There are also three interpretations of what “things” are: Substance, Collection of Sensory Data, and Formed Matter. Heidegger goes on to elaborate on a Van Gogh painting to disprove these three characteristics. In the painting, entitles “Les Souliers,” Heidegger discusses the purpose of a pair of shoes in the painting. He says, “By revealing the being of the shoes, this work establishes the truth of shoes.” A truth in this world is hidden until it is exposed through art.

REACTION
This was one of the toughest reading’s I’ve had in a while during my time here at NYU. I had to read it over and over to get a vague idea of the concepts, and I’m still struggling to fully grasp Heidegger. Maybe that’s why he’s such a revered figure, because common minds find it tough to fully understand him. To me, the word “art” and concept behind the word can always be subjective. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to an individual’s definition of “art” and it’s expression through artwork. With that in mind, I can still agree with parts of his philosophies – that an artist is defined by his pieces, and his pieces are defined by the artist. I still can’t understand the end of the chapter, when Heidegger’s theories and philosophies about the World and the Earth are spelled out. I’m still in the process of re-reading those passages over and over again.