Tolstoy’s standard for art is that an artist must convey a feeling to their audience for it to be considered art. In these terms, a feeling is when the artist uses expression and the audience is infected by what is being expressed. Expression is when an artist creates something that comes from inside themselves, and makes it acceptable and obtainable for others to hear, see, etc. Infection in simple terms means understanding. The person perceiving the art is infected when they understand what was being expressed. This process creates a feeling in the individuals perceiving the art. Maybe the art brings the perceiver back to a time when they felt a feeling the art is expressing to them, so they understand how the artist was feeling as well. This understanding is the what makes Art really Art to Tolstoy.
“Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.”
I agree with Tolstoy’s definition of art, and I think his standard is an effective way to evaluate whether or not art is considered to be good. Art has always been the way that Tolstoy describes. Artist are deep thinkers who know how to make feelings tangible by putting them onto paper, into words, or music. Artists don’t always create sad feelings. Even happy, upbeat music is still creating a feeling, whether or not its light-hearted, its still a feeling. For me personally, the best songs in my life have always caused me to feel something, not just breeze past my ears with no emotion. Anytime a song that doesn’t cause me to really connect with it in some way pops up on my playlist, I hit skip. I think this is true for most individuals.
I watched an interview of Juice WRLD after he died and he mentioned how people tend to blame rap music and hip hop culture on the violence happening in communities, they claim that the music is creating a culture of violence. I thought he made a good point by saying that violence has always been around, rap music is just a way for artists to express their feelings surrounding the culture they grew up in. It’s a way for them to express and release their emotions, so the listeners can understand and be infected as well. If you don’t like rap music, maybe you just can’t understand. And that goes for all music types and art in general. People are attracted to different genres because of who they are and what they’ve experienced in life.
Published by ginam0
My name is Gina, I am 18 years old and this is my second semester of college. I was born in Sacramento and have lived out my life in my tiny two bed/ two bath east sac home with my two sisters and parents. In most ways, I grew up very fortunate. My mom dedicated herself to her work with the Los Rios District so that she could provide a comfortable life for her children, something she lacked as a child. I was lucky enough to attend private elementary and high school; I went to Christian Brothers. I don't like to view myself as a victim in any way because I truly was given so many opportunities that many people do not receive growing up. However, one of the biggest obstacles that I had to overcome came after my transition from middle school to high school. I faced a lot of bullying my freshman year. I had always been a little bit sheltered due to my private elementary background, I had only ever gone to school with about 35 other kids from kindergarten-8th grade. A certain freshman boy showed interest in me, and did not take it well when I rejected him in a decent manner. Before the school year had even started, he spread a rumor about me preforming sexual acts with him. At the time of the incident, this really broke me down. Other guys would meet me for the first time, and while still being 'friendly' towards me, would bring up the rumor or joke about it to get a reaction from me. Some girls looked at me differently, and this rumor felt like I carried a sign above me everywhere I went or that I was under a microscope. I had never even remotely come close to being with another person before this incident. I cared a lot about what people thought of me, and this created a negative self-image. I was also very small at the time (both my parents are small, my mom was small when she was young, and my sisters and I all were very small as kids), and multiple other boys made jokes about my body in front of me, and one (another reject) even posted a comment about me being "flat" on his snap chat story. The hardest part for me throughout all of this was not having an adult or anyone wiser than I to talk to. Both of my parents are loving, but out of touch. I never have had a strong enough relationship with either of them to bring up this embarrassing situation I had gotten into, and for the first few months I believed I brought it upon myself by even being friends with the guy who started it all. Especially when I kind of knew he had different intentions than I did. I think overcoming this obstacle really helped me grow into a smarter, happier person. I stopped desiring to erase the rumor or revise my reputation, I just learned to accept myself for who I knew I was, and be happy with the people around me who loved me. I felt free from judgement because I simply learned to not care anymore about what people thought of me. Eventually by doing this, the bullies caught the hint too. I think this is one of my biggest triumphs because learning to accept yourself is a huge part of becoming an adult and accomplishing your dreams. I also am proud that I survived the bad high school experience on my own and by the end of it, turned it into a good one. I learned to trust myself, be more independent, and confident. My biggest passion in life right now is to complete my degree and live out a loving life. I want to be happy and surround myself with the right people. Creating a family and surrounding my kids with love is my biggest passion in life.
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