Analysis Of John Dewey 's ' The Metamorphoses Of Ovid '

Ovid’s Metamorphoses I is fundamentally about change, at that point it is nothing unexpected that change is as often as possible utilized through should the poem as a theme as well as the verb or verbs portraying change are over and again utilized all through the poem. Metamorphoses I implies transformations and there are numerous, numerous sorts of transformations all through the poem. To be sure, about everything in the story is in a procedure of evolving. Disorder is changed into the universe, waterways and springs are made from nothing, islands sever from the land, people change into plants and animals, gods change their shape, people are changed by love and by hate. However, so frequently these transformations appear to be extraneous,

The art world holds many masterpieces. Some speak in volumes and pull you into them without any sort of hesitation, while as some gently whisper and invite you in with simplistic modesty. Whether or not the viewer understands the meaning or what the purpose of the piece, it is acceptable to not understand and to be left with thought provoking questions. Painted, sculpted, welded, designed, animated, photographed, composed art is all alive and each so imperfectly unique and perfectly bland it could cause a shift in anyone’s mind. Out of control and in perfect order art exists, it exists in chaos and harmony.

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Ovid quotes, “My mind is bent to tell your bodies changed into new forms.” In other words, he claims that the body can be modified into different forms, shapes, and structures. His usage of the terms “bent”, “changed”, and “forms” all in the one sentence depicts his perception of the body and how it relates to the mind. Unlike Plato, Ovid believes that the mind can be “bent” and altered. The body, in his perception, is the physical notion of creation itself: the creation of the human body through first clay and then rocks and stones, the creation of the land, the creation of sea, the creation of heaven, and the creation of the underworld (Ovid 5-6).

What can be sweeter than a mother's unconditional love? In most nuclear families, the family members interact with each other to support and construct a home with values of love and prosperity. However, not every home can be categorized as loving and bountiful as certain circumstances can cause an unfortunate crisis that impacts family members to change how they perceive one another. Revenge, being an approach to handle some circumstances, is a very common topic in Greek mythology which, leads the characters to take justice into their own hands by any means necessary— to restore their honor. In Ovid's poem the Metamorphoses, tales of grandeur and unpleasant fates are retold in sequence, revealing heroic people, lessons, and origins from stories

“And I reckon them that are good must suffer for it the same as them that are bad.”― William Faulkner. Faulkner’s ideology is prevalent in the story The Metamorphoses, by Ovid, as the poet tells of the god Jupiter destroying all man kind (except for Deucalion and Pyrrha) because of the actions of one, Lycaon. Ovid describes Jupiter's destruction as an effort to protect all the gods who do not live in the heavens. However, Jupiter's actions are not justified in any way presented in the book. In the story there are multiple cases where Jupiter and other gods cause danger and torment on the lower class of gods. Examples of rape,

Ovid's Metamorphoses is a collection 15 books of mythological and legendary stories, many taken from Greek sources, in which transformation (metamorphosis) plays a role, however minor. The stories are told in chronological order from the creation of the world (the first metamorphosis, of chaos into order) to the death and deification of Julius Caesar (the culminating metamorphosis). Passion is the essential theme of the poems. The work is noted for its wit, stylistic brilliance, and narrative and descriptive qualities (Britannica).

Multiple generations of masterpieces by such artists as Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, to even graffiti artist Banksy, can be found within art museums. Ways of Seeing author John Berger writes, “When..we ‘saw’ the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history. When we are prevented from seeing it, we are being deprived of the history which belongs to us” (Berger, p.11). Berger notes that when one views a piece of art, they “situate” themselves in different interpretations on the significance and/or message it holds (conveys).

Images of art enhances how one views the world around him. Infinite meanings behind an image expands one’s vision to see much more, to think much more, and to believe much more. “Our vision is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself, constituting what is present to us as we are(Berger 106)”.

Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is sometimes argued as a non-epic as well as a true epic. It is mainly viewed as a non-epic because Ovid's subject matter is far from the heroic themes of the "Illiad", "Odyssey", and the "Aeneid" (Keith 237). Ovid was different and was motivated to push the epic beyond its previous boundaries (Ovid). Perhaps in hopes to confirm the structure of his work, Ovid declares that he will undertake "one continuous song in many thousands of verses" (Keith 238-239). Ovid's wording here is a self-conscious declaration that he is going to write in the epic mode.

Arthur C. Danto in “The Artworld” provides us with the argument that, “To see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry-an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld.” Danto shows us the importance of the artworld in order to know that a work of art is more than just what we can plainly see. Danto provides two theories he calls the “IT” (Imitation theory) and the “RT” (Reality theory). With these two theories, Danto explains how we can define art and why “The Artworld” is needed to help understand art, because after all, “these days one might not be aware he was on artistic terrain without an artistic theory to tell him so.”

There are few questions quite as esoteric or as futilely subjective as the philosopher's "What is…?" Yet posing and answering this question in reference to the identity of art is critical to further discussions of our subject matter in this course. There is no way for us to discuss art until we have a working definition of what art is; we can't adequately use the term until we've defined it. To this end, I would like to submit this as a working definition: "Art is anything created for the purpose of communicating the sensations of emotional response to, or creating emotional response in, those who experience it."

The most important trait in defining art is its beauty. As complex as the term “art” can be, the term “beauty” is nearly just as complicated. In order to understand art more clearly it is important to understand beauty. “We label an object beautiful because it promotes an internal harmony or ‘free play’ of our mental faculties; we call something ‘beautiful’ when it elicits this pleasure.” (Freeland 8). As defined above, beauty is not a direct message. It is something that subconsciously allows man to feel good and pleasurable. There is “an internal harmony” when we observe something beautiful that allows us to take away a deeper understanding of a work of art regardless of it being “nice looking” or “ugly”.

When examining art, art theory can provide useful tools in understanding, appreciating, and extracting both superficial and deeper meanings from the work. It also assists in quantifying what art is; the case has been made that artistic license does not equate art, and boundaries help to create context and meaning. In Terry Barrett’s book, Why is That Art?: Aesthetics and Criticism of Contemporary Art, he delves into art theory through the lens of realism, cognitivism, and expressionism, using contributions from theorists both ancient and modern. Renowned pop artist, Jeff Koons, presents something of an analytical conundrum in much of his art, as it can be analyzed through the lens of all three categories. His sculpture, Pink Panther, when analyzed through realism, provides a succinct reflection of many deeply ingrained cultural attitudes and expectations. The following will analyze Pink Panther using realism theory, offering a sample process of how such an analysis could occur. It will also subsequently evaluate the interpretation, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses that can be found when applying certain perspectives in art theory to a specific work of art.

When you look upon my walls, you are sure to find art. When you walk down the street, you are sure to find art. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go there is art, but art is more than pictures hanging upon a wall and is more than the paintings that painter John Berger references in his essay “Ways of Seeing”. Art is not one definable thing, but is of many origins and form. Paintings are art, poetry is art, music is art and so much more. There is simply no way to avoid it. Art has an impact on all of us whether we admit it or not, whether it be posters hanging on our walls or music playing in the background. However, in most of our lives, the art we see and experience is merely a reproduction of an original. Most Americans are part of the middle class and thus cannot afford original pieces of artwork, or afford to witness everything live on a normal basis. Without reproductions many of us would not experience what we know as art, as the original is often out of reach and thus reproductions were born to fill that gap. Reproductions of art provide opportunities and the chance to experience in some way the art that is created, and yet they lack the full intensity of the experience and the value that comes with the original or first-hand experience.

For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and