Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

Philosophy of Art has long been a part of the more broader studies in Philosophy. The Ancient Greek Philosophers Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle all addressed the subject of Philosophy of Art, Music, and Beauty that would later become known, collectively, as Aesthetics. The peoples of ancient and medieval times were mostly illiterate. The common person could not read, write, or engage with books, scrolls or literature. The fine arts of music, poetry, painting, sculpting, and engravings was a way these illiterate peoples retained their respective histories and cultural heritage.

Furthermore, works of art are not constrained by specific language barriers, and are better at traversing spatial and temporal boundaries. Therefore, works of fine art could be easily shared among illiterate peoples who spoke different languages across vast distances of space or time. To do so, the work of art must convey an idea, feeling, emotion, belief, knowledge, or express a form of beauty communicated without conventional means and are universal to the human experience. Philosophy of Art attempts to understand and answer questions pertaining to this universal human communication of art, and the respective physical mediums used.      

Academia is almost as competitive as the corporate world. The academic disciplines relating to science, technology, engineering, and math always acquire the lion's share of the academic monies. As budgets tighten in Washington D.C., in State Capitols, and local municipal governments, funding for the Arts and Humanities usually gets cuts shortly after various social services are eliminated.

Interestingly enough, the STEM related disciplines have drastically reduced the costs related to the Fine Arts and Humanities. For instance, utilizing modern Personal Computers and Internet technologies a person can learn to play any musical instrument without actually spending any money. Today's educational computer programs replace the $40/hour music tutors of only 25 years ago.

As an undergraduate Economics and Philosophy double-major at Virginia Tech I had introductory courses in both Music Appreciation and Theater Arts. Being, also, a Microsoft Certified Windows Programmer I found vast amounts of material online, at the local public library, and elsewhere, for anyone to spend hours, even days, researching and enjoying music and the other fine arts. Every January I check to see what has entered into the Public Domain Rights.

The Walt Disney Company purchased all the material of Marvel Comics and Star Wars franchises for around $8 billion in 2009. The Disney Corporation recently celebrated its 100th year of continuous business operations. I have more than 30 Disney movies as part of my personal movie archive, making Disney the single largest part of my collection.

Microsoft's recent $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard will be a windfall for the fine arts in the video game development industry. Currently, Netflix and Paramount are in an $80 billion fight over the Warner Discovery Studio assets, which includes the Dune and D.C. Comics franchises. Several of these comicbook-based movies have each generated over a billion dollars of revenue for their respective movie studios, establishing them as among the biggest money-makers in Hollywood. It is unlikely an artist would be part of a multi-billion dollar comicbook or video-game franchise, but it is very possible to earn a living in these industries doing the art a person loves.

Presently, I am researching how technology can be used to help facilitate Interfaith dialogue between the different Christian Denominations and other faith traditions. I am a descendant of the 1620 Pilgrim Mayflower voyage and a Christian Baptist. The Baptists played an important part in establishing the Religious Liberty Clause of the First Amendment. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are often referred to as Religions of the Book. The Holy Bible is a sacred religious text and is a central tenant of their faith, traditions, rituals, and practices. Protestant Christians view the Holy Bible as important as the physical church or temple, itself. Consequently, literacy is much more important when the Faith depends on a holy book, sacred text, or personal journal. Until the invention of the Printing Press, however, it cost around $20,000 in today's dollars to produce a single copy of the Holy Bible. Most peoples in ancient and medieval times simply could not afford to own a copy of the Holy Bible. 

Research and studies of the Fine Arts and Humanities, with relation to Religion and Religious Practices, may receive special tax-exempt status, further reducing the costs associate with the artistic work produced. It is not much of an exaggeration to say the churches, temples, schools, and libraries of ancient and medieval times were little more than factories producing sacred texts, holy books, musical compositions, enchanted charms and jewelry, tapestries, pottery, or other craft works of fine art. Under today's U.S. law much of those handcrafted religious works would have special tax-exempt status. Currently being tax filling season here in the United States, my religious friends and church leaders will certainly want to consult a tax expert on any works of fine art, handicrafts, musical or literary compositions their respective church or religious organization might produce.

In conclusion, the Fine Arts has played an important part of daily life in ancient and medieval times for a mostly illiterate public. Today, comicbook and video-game franchises are among the largest corporations and top earners. As government leaders at every level look to tighten budgets, modern technology has drastically lowered the costs of research, participation, and tutoring of the Fine Arts. An online degree in Fine Arts is a great way to showcase an individual's mastery of a specific art or skill, and is a terrific double-major selection. Any handicraft works of the Fine Arts produced of a religious nature or for religious ceremonies are probably exempt from any and all taxes or tax collection, under the First Amendment Religious Liberty Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Aesthetics, or the Philosophy of Art, attempts to understand and examine the nature of the various works of Fine Art for their respective cultural, historical, and religious implications and importance.