Re: Tell me if you've heard this one.

From: Anders Sandberg (nv91-asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Mon Apr 28 1997 - 02:44:44 MDT


On Mon, 28 Apr 1997, Steve Witham wrote:

> I've just finnished a couple books by Thomas Moore: _Care of the Soul_ and
> _The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life_. One of the things he stresses
> repeatedly is that good art, like myths and dream imagery, doesn't
> admit to any single interpretation. Instead it gives your mind something
> to get interested in, wonder about, vamp on, get lost in, etc.

I agree, although I prefer art that gets you thinking about some more
definite area. Still, it was a quite amusing trick (I didn't have the
time to get involved in interpreting it).

Sometimes art can be quite subtle. One of my favorite "artworks" was when
Dan Wolgers made an installation for an exhibition about "The Human
Condition" a few years back: he stole two benches from the exhibition hall
and sold them. In the ensuing uproar he got quite many swedes to argue
about the nature of art, which would never have happened otherwise. The
big question is IMHO if his theft was the artwork, or the ensuing
controversy which he had clearly anticipated.

I wonder if one could extend this form of ideas of provoking thinking to
other areas, such as science.

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