Intentism: What's been said.
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In my view intentism is a constructive new movement that embraces the creative efforts of artists working in a range of media and art forms.
Intentism redirects our attention from the discourse of critics and theorists to the artists whose thoughts and actions are the ultimate source of whatever is genuinely valuable in the arts.
Paisley Livingstone, Chair Professor of Philosophy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong and author of 'Art and Intention.'
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Intentionalism not just an academic issue. Rather, it has far reaching implications for art, law, and everyday life. We cannot let the nonsense of postmodernism become the standard understanding of the role authors and artists play in determining the meaning of their work. Too much is at stake to remain silent. Participating in the Intentism Conference is an important first step.
William Irwin, Professor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania and author of 'Intentionalist Interpretation' and 'The Death and Resurrection of the Author.'
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First, greetings to the intentists. I am on your side and have been since I first came to these matters in 1961. Those who are against reference to artists and their intentions seem to me to dehumanise art, and that is of a piece with a more general dehumanisation of culture that I find in many thinkers (usually under the claim that author=authority=authoritarian=tyranny etc). The recognition of the humanity of another, as a person, is a buttress against any attempt to treat that person as a thing, or a sub-human, to be dispensed with without moral consequences. (I note that Hitler and many of his followers thought of the Jews as sub-human and outside the respect that acknowledging another as human demands from us). Moreover, to see humanity in the intention of the work is to acknowledge the status of that work as an end and not (see Kant) as a thing to be treated as a means to an end.
I also add that I think that to ignore the fact that the work is intimately related to the person who produced it is to cut oneself off from its proper appreciation. A work of art is a human gesture and its maker can be seen (perhaps with difficulty at times) IN the gesture. To appreciate the work is to appreciate the quality of the gesture.
My best wishes for the success of your conference and the deliberations of its members.
Colin Lyas, retired professor of Philosophy Lancaster University and author of 'Aesthetics.' |
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Intentism noun
\in-'tentizəm\
Intentism is a movement of artists, authors and musicians who believe that art can convey an artist's intended message to his or her intended audience. As a movement it both recognizes and celebrates the relationship between an artist's creation and its creator.
Intentists believe 3 principles:
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Intentists believe that the artist is free to convey his or her intended message. Intentists believe that European postmodernism is an attempt to gag the artist.
Eminent poststructuralist Jacques Derrida, seen as a champion of Postmodernism, believes intention,"...will no longer be able to govern the entire scene and the entire system of utterances." For Derrida's postmodern followers this means that there must ALWAYS be more than one interpretation of any text or work. Intention will NEVER be completely present. There will ALWAYS be undecidables.
Intentism believes in UNGAGGING the artist so that he or she can speak to us.
Picture George W. Bush buying an imaginary Banksy which powerfully depicts the injustice of the Iraq War. Bush thinks it is a nice picture supporting his foreign policy. We think George Bush does not understand the meaning of the artwork.
Who is right?
Postmodernism thinks that the artwork has no universal meaning and can therefore say many things. Meaning rests with the interpreter rather than the artist. If this is true, then the work can mean anything and therefore, effectively mean nothing.
The artist has been gagged.
Postmodernism encourages the belief that no artist or author is able to convey his or her intended meaning because everyone must experience art through their limited frame or reference. Semiotician and social theorist Roland Barthes wrote of 'The Death of the Author' because, in his eyes, the author's intention is irrelevant. "To give a text an Author...is to impose a limit on that text."
Intentists call this the GAGGING of the artist because the artist is very much alive and has a message to say.
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Intentists believe a confused, hidden or denied intention leads to ZERO accountability.
This is bad for art and bad for society.
A dead artist can no longer be associated with a painting advocating racism or homophobia, for example. Both Heidegger and Paul De Man have been rightly criticized for writing anti-Semitic articles, which is hypocritical unless an artist's voice can be heard and recognized.
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Conversely, Intentists believe that an omission of artist intention can lead to enforced restrictions on the artist and even censorship.
When the Contemporary Art Museum in Cincinatti, opened the art exhibition The Perfect Moment in 1990, the city of Cincinnati brought suit against the Centre and two curators as some of the work was considered offensive. The prosecution only showed the work, the defense explained possible artistic intention. The jury acquitted all the accused.
Art has been at the vanguard of changing social behaviour, often encouraging tolerance and civil liberties. Art has often been one step ahead of society in attitudes towards women, race and politics, acting as a social conscience in times of oppression.
The potency of art to speak to the hearts and minds of people is not doubted by dictaors who are often keen to silence its voice.
Without the influence of art with a message civilization will be that much more brutal, that much more intolerant.
Intentists believe that although their artwork can have a complex meaning and be understood on a number of levels, there are definitely ways it can be misunderstood - therefore not all interpretations are equally valid.
Intentists believe that their artwork is able to convey their artistic intention to their intended audience.
Intentists believe that the voice of their work is a force for good. |
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