The Subconscious

My cousin at Barnhard, who I interviewed for one of the two required interviews, gave me an article to read that she said was great help to her in her philosophy of art class. Art and Intention: A Philosophical Study by Paisley Livingston discusses the importance that intention plays in producing and appreciating art. “Intentions…are not always conscious or successfully realized; nor…can [we] expect to appreciate a work's meanings in every case simply by understanding the artist's intentions. But there are also ample reasons for thinking that we will often fail to understand the individual or collective production of a work of art…if we fail to pay attention to the relevant intentions.” Here is another philosopher of art who agrees that there is no clear answer. We cannot say that we must know the intent of the artist in each case. We cannot say that if we don’t fully understand what the artist was trying to achieve then our interpretations of the work hold no validity. There is a balance.

“There are some typical features of paradigmatic cases of artistic creativity and intentions are integral aspects of these features.” Livingston explains that intentions might be necessary for the narrative, but definitely not the artistic character of the work. "In a range of relatively simple cases," as he puts it, “the artist's decision is key to a work's completion, though this genetic attitude is merely necessary but not sufficient to establish that the finished product is a work of art.”

What Livingston said further supported all the information I’ve learned thus far. I think it’s important to note his understanding of how the subconscious plays a role in the production of a piece of art. Yes, artists sometimes think they are creating a piece of work that means a specific something. But something their subconscious causes other themes to be produced. Sometimes the artist doesn’t fully know what he or she is creating. So the notion of understand the intention of an artist might be an impossible one. We can never fully know what the artist had intended, because they don’t know themselves. And perhaps that is where individual interpretation is appropriate.