Phenomenologies of Art and Vision

Contemporarydiscussions of the image like to emphasize art's societal functions. Fewstudies come close to answering why pictures and sculptures fascinate andintrigue regardless of any practical functions they might serve. In thisoriginal, thought-provoking study, Paul Crowther reveals the intrinsicsignificance of pictures and sculptures. To address thequestion of how painting becomes an art, Crowther uses the analytic philosophyof Richard Wollheim as a starting point. But to sufficiently answer thequestion, he makes an important link to a tradition much more successful ingiving voice to the deeper ontology of visual art - existential phenomenology. The result is a work that demonstrates thereciprocal relationship between phenomenology and analytic aesthetics. Toexpand its ontological scope and solve the problem of expression, analytic aestheticsneeds phenomenology; while to develop a sustained, critically balanced, andintellectually available ontology, phenomenology needs the discursive force andlucidity of analytic philosophy. This convincing case for a post-analyticphenomenology of art is an important advancement of contemporary discussions ofthe philosophy of art.