Brian Harrell: Aristotle's Nature of Art

Aristotle: Nature of Art

 Art for Aristotle is defined as the realization in external form of a true idea, and is traced back to natural love of imitation which characterizes humans, and to the pleasure which we feel in recognizing likenesses. Compared to other philosophers, his argument differs for he argues that art is not just a product of "copying". Instead, Aristotle states that art idealizes nature and completes its shortages: it aims to grasp the universal type in the individual phenomenon. Aristotle argues that that imitation is a form of education; the closer we look at the object the more we learn about it.
Aristotle respects artist's work, describing their skills as just as respectable as another craftsman. For example, an artist spends years of practice mastering their craft. They dedicate their time and effort into making their art and hope to perfect their imitation. Art shows its importance communicating ideas,  politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty. I beleive that Aristotle's views on art have stood true in today's world, having many people place very high value on artwork, even creating new forms of artwork.

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. -Aristotle

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