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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Director of the aesthetics program at the University of London's School for Advanced Study, Armstrong is also a research fellow in philosophy there, besides running his own art gallery. His brief book follows in the tradition of Sir Kenneth Clark's Looking at Pictures and Ernst Gombrich's many studies about how and why people look at art, but is less authoritative about art history, and, unlike the work of those two fine writers, often falls into truisms ( "the language of art-historical scholarship and the often grand public setting of art can encourage an impersonal attitude"). Armstrong discusses at length the feeling of a tourist being bewildered by failing to respond to famous works of art, but seems unaware that this feeling was codified nearly 200 years ago by Stendhal, and is indeed referred to as "Stendhal's Syndrome." Sometimes Armstrong's approach conflicts with his conclusions. In the chapter, "Private Uses of Art" he asserts: "We should not think that we become more sensitive to the pleasure art and beauty afford by becoming more informed or better conceptually equipped." Yet he spends the rest of the chapter explaining the views on art of writers like Kant, Schiller, Hegel et al. On less intellectual subjects, he can be a little disingenuous: "Because... we can so easily invest our passions in sexy objectsAsexual content in paintings stands as a test case of the role of interest in engaging with art." Even if the arguments do not hang together, the ultimate impression is of a highly civilized Englishman, like Jacob Bronowski (The Ascent of Man), offering a brief but refreshing interlude in a world where puzzling over art is considered an amusing pastime. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Armstrong, an art dealer who also directs the University of London's aesthetics program, offers both lay and academic readers an insightful tour of how and why certain paintings and buildings perform aesthetically for even the casual beholder. With ample illustrations matched to his narrative, he takes us on a tour of the effects and limits of information on appreciation, the role of pre-aesthetic experience on aesthetic apprehension, the importance of unguided reverie and imaginative play in the face of particular artworks, the place of art beyond the realm of social or political critique, and Western philosophy's schematization of aesthetic judgment. Armstrong's text turns often to Italian architecture and 18th- and 19th-century paintings to qualify and exemplify his main points, yet his narrative remains accessible to the nonspecialist and beginning aesthetician. Rather than a scholar's tract, this indeed reads like an "intimate" tour with an articulate guide who opens up not only the possibilities of the seen but also the capacities of the seer. Highly recommended for all collections.DFrancisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Director of the aesthetics program at the University of London's School for Advanced Study, Armstrong is also a research fellow in philosophy there, besides running his own art gallery. His brief book follows in the tradition of Sir Kenneth Clark's Looking at Pictures and Ernst Gombrich's many studies about how and why people look at art, but is less authoritative about art history, and, unlike the work of those two fine writers, often falls into truisms ( "the language of art-historical scholarship and the often grand public setting of art can encourage an impersonal attitude"). Armstrong discusses at length the feeling of a tourist being bewildered by failing to respond to famous works of art, but seems unaware that this feeling was codified nearly 200 years ago by Stendhal, and is indeed referred to as "Stendhal's Syndrome." Sometimes Armstrong's approach conflicts with his conclusions. In the chapter, "Private Uses of Art" he asserts: "We should not think that we become more sensitive to the pleasure art and beauty afford by becoming more informed or better conceptually equipped." Yet he spends the rest of the chapter explaining the views on art of writers like Kant, Schiller, Hegel et al. On less intellectual subjects, he can be a little disingenuous: "Because... we can so easily invest our passions in sexy objectsAsexual content in paintings stands as a test case of the role of interest in engaging with art." Even if the arguments do not hang together, the ultimate impression is of a highly civilized Englishman, like Jacob Bronowski (The Ascent of Man), offering a brief but refreshing interlude in a world where puzzling over art is considered an amusing pastime. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Armstrong, an art dealer who also directs the University of London's aesthetics program, offers both lay and academic readers an insightful tour of how and why certain paintings and buildings perform aesthetically for even the casual beholder. With ample illustrations matched to his narrative, he takes us on a tour of the effects and limits of information on appreciation, the role of pre-aesthetic experience on aesthetic apprehension, the importance of unguided reverie and imaginative play in the face of particular artworks, the place of art beyond the realm of social or political critique, and Western philosophy's schematization of aesthetic judgment. Armstrong's text turns often to Italian architecture and 18th- and 19th-century paintings to qualify and exemplify his main points, yet his narrative remains accessible to the nonspecialist and beginning aesthetician. Rather than a scholar's tract, this indeed reads like an "intimate" tour with an articulate guide who opens up not only the possibilities of the seen but also the capacities of the seer. Highly recommended for all collections.DFrancisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
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