Hey! Welcome to my page, so nice to virtually make your acquaintance. I am a 3rd year student majoring in BA Philosophy. My random 2AM political musings and mismatched personality make for an interesting blog writer. Hopefully you enjoy my posts on Aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty and taste.
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Art Reflection #4: Phenomenon of Ikea-nism
Clement Greenberg is undeniably one of the greatest critics that has graced the art world scene. His formalist view on art teaches us that modernism in art is one that embodies self-reflexivity, the ability to criticize itself from within. For Greenberg, this criticism is a process that is able to define the limits of art and consequently provides a justification for its existence. Therefore, creating a space for art that only art could ever fulfill â a kind of âpurityâ that cannot be found in any other. This is why the medium of art takes the central focus of his essay. Every piece of art must contribute something new, unique, and specialized to the human experience.
This need for purity and authenticity in art leads to another point that Greenberg made, the demarcation between avant-garde art and kitsch. The first type, avant-garde, is a product of a real and curated understanding of culture. He considers this high art, an art work that can induce critical thinking in the spectator. For him, abstract expressionism, e.g., the works of Jackson Pollock, is a form of avant-garde art as it requires the viewer to deeply reflect before coming up with a coherent explanation for the painting. On the flipside of avant-garde is the rear guard or what he refers to as Kitsch. Kitsch is the parasitic threat to high art as it contributes to the vapid thinking of the masses. It is a commercialized version of art, usually found in mass produced art done in bad taste. For Greenberg, this is art enjoyed by the literate proletariat, one that has the urge to enjoy art but has no mental and financial capacity to actually understand it.
However, I think that Greenberg did not anticipate the rise of IKEA-nism. I am not sure if this term formally exists, but this is what I want to use as I refer to capitalismâs way of assimilating high art. IKEA is the Swedish corporate giant specializing in affordable and âaestheticâ ready made home appliances and decorative pieces. IKEA-nism does not only pertain specifically to IKEA but what the company represents in our society and its impact on art. The fast-paced nature of capitalism extinguishes humanityâs level of patience. In this contemporary era, almost everything is tailored for convenience. This is the principle that made IKEA a successful brand and most companies followed suit.Â
The phenomenon of IKEA-nism entails the adaptability of capitalism and how it easily blurs the line between avant-garde and kitsch.Â

âBlue Reflection Triptych II Abstract Painting Print Wall Artâ By Tim OToole found under âIKEA Wall Artâ in the WALMART website. Priced at $10.99.
As I initially surveyed the two paintings attached to this post, I honestly could not tell which one is mass produced and which one is a classic piece from an abstract painter. If we were to follow Greenbergâs loose examples of avant-garde art at face value, we would get nowhere in differentiating between the two paintings. A mass produced art could easily pass off as a classic abstract painting to the untrained eye (which is characteristic of the average person). Furthermore, it begs the question as to whether the difference really matters since they both look alike. IF abstract art is as avant-garde as Greenberg espouses then wouldnât the Walmart version work just as the same as Stillâs?

Clyfford Still, Oil on canvas. Known personality under abstract expressionism
To conclude, I think that while Greenbergâs discussion on the self-reflexivity of art holds merit, his differentiation between kitsch and avant-garde needs improvement for it to be useable in todayâs society. The presence of mechanical reproduction in art has long brought down the walls that served to separate high-brow art with popular art. I think we have moved past the need to label art based on the mode of production, and if we really want to cultivate critical thinking then we need to revitalize the way in which we do it.
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Art Reflection #3: Can taste be taught?
Is a question that sounds like âCan money buy class?â and the answers may vary depending on the perception of a person. In the discussion of Hume and Montesquieuâs critical take on taste and how it can be modulated through educational training has me thinking about the literary classics.
There are thousands of examples but for me it was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, recommended to me in order to teach me what kinds of books I should be reading. At age 11, I had a tough time understanding one paragraph because of the vocabulary used and my limited capacity to understand. Until finally, I was 16 when I finished reading it and ended up disliking the novel.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, first published in 1847
Hume and Montesquieu expressly state that while taste is subjective, it can still be honed and sharpened through education. They urge us to go outside our natural inclinations, to search for better perspectives and not just stubbornly insist that what we like is good enough.Â
Despite disliking Wuthering Heights, it still gave me an acquired taste for the classics, better vocabulary, and analyzation skills. While I could insist on reading fluff novels as it requires less thinking and are easy to read, it would be devastating to have never cried about how Atticus defended Tom against racial discrimination.
Now, to answer the abovementioned question: Yes, my acquired taste in the classics is testament to this. It taught me to look for greater depth and to distinguish good literature. BUT I also think there is a great difference between knowing what is good and actually being committed to appreciating goodness. Stated differently, I may claim that the classics are good for argumentâs sake but there is no compelling reason for me to keep reading them. It is up to us to choose how our tastes become dignified. We have to remember to choose correctly.
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Art Reflection #2: The Chair
Mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual.
- Walter Benjamin, âThe Work of Art in the age of Mechanical Reproduction,â (1935).
Whenever people hear the word âpoliticalâ everything negative comes to mind because it is undeniably complicated, dirty, and almost soulless. So, when someone tries to politicize something beautiful like art, it would be impossible not to hear complaints of âBakit kailangan pang gawin politikalâ or âHindi ba pwedeng enjoyin na lang natin ang bagay-bagayâ because art is most often considered to be an escape from the harsh reality, not a mirror of it.
People are so adamant to escape reality that it became habitual, escapism became a cultural thing. Thatâs why when we see something disturbing in something that is supposed to be âaestheticâ we almost recoil from the inside out in our refusal to accept it. I think this highlights why Benjaminâs take on art is revolutionary, it refuses to be a mindless tool for fascism or to be a cog in the system of oppression that we face. In the politicization of the aesthetic, we recognize the role of art to be democratic, to use it to amplify the voices of the people, and for art to work for our benefit.
A contemporary form of art that is often used to rebel against oppressive political regimes and societal discrepancies is music. In this sense, an example that immediately comes to mind is Upuan by the Filipino rap artist Gloc 9 ft. Jeazelle Grutas.
The song was released in June 2009 and yet the underlying meaning of the song still resonates within me 13 years later.
In detail:
Kayo po na nakaupo Subukan niyo namang tumayo At baka matanaw, at baka matanaw na niyo Ang tunay na kalagayan ko
Right off the bat, the song directly alludes to those in our society that sits so comfortably they become blind to the ills of those around them. The chair can either be symbolizing those who are in politics for self-serving reasons or the powerful people in big corporations, who sit nicely in air-conditioned rooms in high-rises and noise-proof walls amidst poverty.
In comparison: Gloc 9 uses compelling statements in the following verses to effectively illustrate the dark contrast between those who sit in the chair and those on the other side of the grass.
'Di ko alam kung talagang maraming harang O mataas lang ang bakod O nagbubulag-bulagan lamang po kayo Kahit sa dami ng pera niyo Walang doktor na makapagpapalinaw ng mata niyo
Perhaps the most chilling part of the lyrics, as it points to the sheer apathy that pervades those in power and the frustrating circumstances that we face, it highlights that the system is built to make sure people who try will eventually fail.
As is written in the quote at the start of this reflection, the mechanical reproduction of art frees it from the vacuum that it must only exist in a certain way. That to preserve the âauraâ art must be seen in its most âoriginalâ form, exclusively viewed in the biggest galleries across the globe. Seen in the lyrics written by Gloc 9, music as art can exist to be alluring and participatory in the unveiling of the inequalities we experience.
In the age of mechanical reproduction, art forces you to look around you and feel the need to do something, exactly the way it should be.
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Art Reflection #1: The Portmanteau of Jackie Kennedy
I have always liked art that took the banalities of everyday and turned them into something magical. Imitational art, in its varying mediums, have always intrigued me as I always thought âhow could something look so similar and yet⌠not.â For this weeksâ discussion of The Art of Imitation we are enlightened on two contrasting perspectives on mimetic arts, and it was able to explain how the complexities of artistic pieces correlated with our reality.
Platoâs vehement dislike of art stems from the core of his philosophy, that the ultimate form of reality is in its archetypal blueprint in the World of Forms. Therefore, to make art that is a copy of the imperfect physical reality we experience is to make something thrice removed from perfection. Besides the lack of functionality of art, because it just copies the appearance without attaining the use of the object, he thinks that art evokes irrational emotions. This I find to be completely ridiculous as emotions is one of the best thing that the arts could give us that no other field can match. With this, Aristotle would find my statement to be agreeable. Completely contrasting from Plato, Aristotle postulates that art is not just a matter of copying and pasting objects in separate mediums. Art for him is the portrayal of something that we otherwise would not notice, the nooks and crannies of real life that we would have missed are accentuated and given meaning.
More than just the reproduction of something, poetic imitation for Aristotle also induces catharsis. It allows us to purge feelings and emotions that we have trouble expressing without going through rough lengths.

(Jackie. Advertisement. IMDB.com. 2016. Web. 9 December. 2016.)
A great example to this is Natalie Portmanâs portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in the movie with the same name as her titular character. Not only was she able to artfully imitate the appearance of the former First Lady of America, but she also mimicked her accent, behavior, walk, speech pattern and voice, as well as Jackieâs little habits picked up from hours of footage that she examined.
Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, clad in the latterâs signature pearls and Dior two-piece suit. Kennedyâs iconic bouffant hair, red lips, and even the faraway look are copied down to the last detail. (From left to right: Getty Images, Everette Collection as cited in https://www.vogue.com/article/jackie-natalie-portman-jacqueline-kennedy-beauty-rules-golden-globes-2017)
Jackie Kennedy as she proceeded to the Funeral event of then President JFK. Chilling how every contour of her dress, movement of her veil, and hat were replicated perfectly. The morbid dissonance and utter hopelessness felt after the reenactment of the assassination still lingers within the viewers, creating catharsis not easily achieved through any activity. (From left to right: Getty Images, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Portmanâs imitation of Kennedy was more than the implementation of facts gathered, she was able to provide depth to the pain and turbulence that Jackie went through to every person who watched. Jackie Kennedy as portrayed took on another meaning, she became relational, less impersonal from her figure in history books. Suddenly, those who saw this uncanny portmanteau of Jackie Kennedy on the big screen felt a tiny fraction of her anguish as John F. Kennedy was assassinated, as if their own spouse got shot but not really. This moving art was able to provide them an expression of pain without the actual experience to cause it. The clear human-ness of the scene captured the interiority of different people.
The art of imitation as understood through the lens of Aristotle provides for us a magnified insight into reality, it is neither inferior nor is it superficial. Mimesis takes on a life of its own that helps us understand depths of ourselves that mere reason cannot provide.
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To be deprived of art and left alone with philosophy is to be close to Hell.
Igor Stravinski and Robert Craft, (Retrospectives and Conclusions, 1969)
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