For an Audience: A Philosophy of the Performing Arts (Arts and Their Philosophies) [Hardcover]

Paul Thom (Author)

Book Description

Series: Arts and Their Philosophies | Publication Date: December 1992

This is an examination of the criteria for identifying, evaluating, and appreciating art forms that require performance for their full realization. Unlike his contemporaries, Paul Thom concentrates on an analytical approach to evaluating music, drama, and dance. Separating performance art into its various elements enables Thom to study its nature and determine essential features and their relationships. Throughout the book, he debates traditional thought in numerous areas of the performing arts. He argues, for example, against the invisibility of the performer "the vehicle of representation in performance" then critiques Diderot's Paradox of Performance, calling it "the most extreme formulation of the traditional valorization," and declaring that such thinking must be abandoned.Developing several lines of reasoning regarding music, Thom considers questions of incompleteness and authenticity in relation to the score, the score's function, and the sense in which musical performances are interpreted, or are open to interpretation. It is this audience interpretation that is the final ingredient in the blending and interrelating of the performers, the performance, and the audience. Thom discusses the impact of music, drama, and dance performances on audiences, and evaluates their expectations, reception, and interpretations. He contends that audiences play an active role as interpreters, without becoming performers themselves. Paul Thom is head of the Philosophy Department, The Faculties, Australian National University.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } This is an examination of the criteria for identifying, evaluating, and appreciating art forms that require performance for their full realization. Unlike his contemporaries, Paul Thom concentrates on an analytical approach to evaluating music, drama, and dance. Separating performance art into its various elements enables Thom to study its nature and determine essential features and their relationships. Throughout the book, he debates traditional thought in numerous areas of the performing arts. He argues, for example, against the invisibility of the performer "the vehicle of representation in performance" then critiques Diderot's Paradox of Performance, calling it "the most extreme formulation of the traditional valorization," and declaring that such thinking must be abandoned.Developing several lines of reasoning regarding music, Thom considers questions of incompleteness and authenticity in relation to the score, the score's function, and the sense in which musical performances are interpreted, or are open to interpretation. It is this audience interpretation that is the final ingredient in the blending and interrelating of the performers, the performance, and the audience. Thom discusses the impact of music, drama, and dance performances on audiences, and evaluates their expectations, reception, and interpretations. He contends that audiences play an active role as interpreters, without becoming performers themselves. Paul Thom is head of the Philosophy Department, The Faculties, Australian National University.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thom succeeds in laying the foundations for a philosophy of the performing arts in the analytic tradition." --Laurent Stern, Rutgers University

Product Details

Hardcover: 239 pages
Publisher: Temple Univ Pr (December 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0877229910
ISBN-13: 978-0877229919
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,579,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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