【0906G 文以载道三月四月小组】2.14作业

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ISSUE144:It is the artist, not the critic, who gives society something of lasting value.

The lasting value, includes the treasure in material as well as spirit, is created through the accumulation of the wisdom of human beings. Admittedly, artist plays a significant role in the form of far-reaching masterpieces, albeit the influence of critic can not be ignored.

Turning first to some kinds of public art forms which enrich people’s life, these arts mirror the briefs and thinking of the populace rooting in their minds no matter the view of critic. Taking movie as example, this art form is always a reflection of the society which is replete with the true and false, the goodness and evil, the happiness and hapless. What the movie shows to the public is a minimized society and in this sense the critic’s comment is meaningless but just the grumble at the world. On the contrary, it is the artist who presents the whole world in one or two hours’ films deserves more praise. The same holds true to the music, a kind of art reflecting the main values and ideas of the contemporary. In Beethoven’s music, people felt a unyielding man struggling with the cruel and strong dominance. Due to the melody and spirit, his music come down and become the priceless treasure of human beings.

Also, the critic to the public architecture won’t accelerate the form of more valuable work for the reason that the architecture is a symbol which shows the direction of society’s development. For instance, during the medieval period the most important architectural form was the castle which reflected an overriding concern for military security. During the twentieth century it was first the steel-forged art forms and then the sky-scraping office building that dominated the architecture and these forms reflect modern concerns for industrial and technological progress. All of these are decided by the progress of society can’t be changed or altered by critic.

Nonetheless, to some extent, critic can cite the attention of public on the work of artiest, especially in paintings which add too much personal elements. And for better or worse, the comment from the critic enhances the reputation of the work. Painters, every so often, draw inspiration from their own experiences and change style due to emotional or psychological reasons. Thus, the critic’s comment can help us accept the good and reject the bad. Like one of the twentieth century’s most influential painters Pollock, his penchant was for dripping paint on the floor in order to create abstract images. Some critics thought he just failed to be a conventional painter and turned to this technique while others considered it was the result of thinking and inspiration. Anyway, thanks to these critics, people concentrated on Pollock’s work and his paintings came down.

In sum, in the realm of painting which has more concern for personal trifles, critic gives lots of helpful opinions and therefore forms something of lasting value. In other aspects, however, critic’s comment can’t provide a constructive advice and even make the world more complex as well as confusing.